picture book review: the house in the night

The House in the Night is a wonderfully simple nursery-rhyme-like story with beautiful pictures. The story, inspired by an actual nursery rhyme, involves a young girl reading a book about a bird and then imagining she is flying on the bird's back to explore the universe. The pictures appear almost like etchings. They are predominantly black and white, but each picture includes selected areas of yellow. The book literally illuminates the universe by looking at the size, shape and scope of objects. It's a book whose power lies in the simplicity of words, the beauty of pictures, and its seemingly endless ability to incite the imagination of children and adults alike. It's the perfect book to read before going to bed.