Firefly Night - Hardcover

Carole Gerber is the author of many books for children, including LEAF JUMPERS, WINTER TREES, and ARCTIC DREAMS. She lives in Columbus, Ohio.

PreSchool-Grade 1-In this lullabylike poem inspired by a passage from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Hiawatha, a young Chippewa girl (in "traditional" dress) follows fireflies through the night, as they illuminate various animals. The rhymed couplets are unremarkable, even plodding. "Wah-wah-taysee, firefly;/name for you from Chippewa./Flash your golden signal bright/as the evening turns to night." ("Chippewa" is not a language, although "Algonquian" is). The text is set on white framing double-page or page-and-a-half illustrations. The realistic watercolors in deep, purple tones are comforting but drab. Spot illustrations depicting Chippewa beadwork patterns decorate some pages. Acknowledging the fanciful element in the poem, some parts are still questionable. "Show me the grizzly's hidden lair" shows the girl smiling in delight at a sleeping bear. "Shine on the turtle, snake, and frog" shows a turtle sunning itself under the moon. The smiling animals all follow the girl home to her wigwam, and to sleep. In all, this book offers little beyond a catalog of forest and marsh animals.
Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA
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