In The Night Garden written and illustrated by Carin Berger is a quiet story about the beauty of the night as experienced by a little girl and her cat-----mostly by her cat who can be seen on every page including on the front and back covers where the cat is beautifully placed against a background of flowers full of buttons, butterflies, and bells.
The cat does not have a name, but it does have a mission. Starting out it can be seen walking across the roof of the house where it meets several swooping bats before it drops down into the night garden itself for a playful look at a butterfly. Then the cat, from behind a tree, peeks at a mama fox encouraging her babies to follow her home. And then there is the challenging illustration of the cat, standing at the side of the picture, listening to the song of the cricket as well as the sound of the bull frog.
Children will be delighted to find the well-placed cricket and the nearly hidden bull frog.
Throughout the gorgeously illustrated pictures are details filled in with paper collage artwork such as musical notes, bank statements, tickets, pages from accounting books and other ephemera.
The last two pages reunite the little girl and her cat and hold the key thought: “Good Night, Good Night, Good Night, Good Night. Sleep Tight.” And they do.
In The Night Garden written and illustrated by Carin Berger is a beautiful picture book for children 3-6 years of age(Neal Porter Books/ Holiday House) 2023
The Children’s Bookshelf is a production of WCMU. Links to the podcast and the Activity Questions can be found at Children’s Bookshelf dot org.
Activity Questions for In The Night Garden
Visual Hide and Seek for young children.
Find the cat in the following places throughout the book:
On the cover of the book.
Walking on the roof.
Blowing snow on the trees.
Posing on the title page.
Sleeping with the little girl.
Watching fox cubs from behind a tree.
Listening to singing crickets.
Looking at two fish in a bowl.
Creative Movement for older readers:
Be a bat in motion and swoop and glide through the air. Study the shape of a bat before you start.
Be the wild wind blowing snow through the trees. Include the sound and movement of the wind.
Be a hoot owl calling you to come out from behind a tree. Listen to how a hoot owl sounds and moves online with the help of your parents before you start.
Be a cat tiptoeing across a noisy roof. Be sure to take careful steps.
