Night Song
Mk Smith Despres, illus. by Hyewon Yum.
In this lyrically told be-yourself story, a
frog named Bernardo longs to join the
birds whose dawn song inspires the sun,
which in turn "gently unfolded the flowers,
dried the night-damp stones, and leaned
across the backs of the leaves to dance across
the forest floor." The pleasure that other
creatures take in this beauty ("The fishes
in the pond swam in the song, the drag-
onflies hummed along") spur Bernardo's
desire to sing like the birds. "I'd like to do
that.... I'd like to make the whole woods
happy,
happy," he thinks. But attempts to
become more avian-adorning himself in
colorful leaves, ascending a tree--are met
with stern looks. The frog's perspective
doesn't shift until a small friend reminds
Bernardo of the role he plays in another
musical drama: the dusk song that puts
the woods to sleep. Assured lines by
debut creator Smith Despres convey the
wonder of change brought by the day':
rhythms, while limpid colored pencil,
watercolor, and ink spreads by Yum (Luli
and the Language of Tea) deliver giggles and
render subtly changing light and color in
this hymn to contemplating one's
