December 2015

One Night, Far from Here  |  Julia Wauters

As I write this review on Black Friday, I cannot help but wonder if parents and grandparents are purchasing children’s books for the holidays.  With that in mind, I am recommending a book which is artistically designed, stunningly gorgeous, fun, educational, and interactive.  One Night, Far from Here, by Julia Wauters, is rare in the world of children’s picture books.

Care to travel to the African Savannah, the Russian Taiga, the Amazon Rainforest, the Deep Sea or the North American Forest?  Grab your child, place them on your lap and open this world of wonder.  Once you do, you will take a nocturnal journey to find each beautifully illustrated page filled with flora, fauna and animals that live in each environment.

What makes this book even more magical is that three pages are devoted to each region. The first two pages are acetate overlays filled with illustrations. These clearly reveal animals and plants through the dark night, culminating when the sun rises in the morning. This design gives the reader a chance to see each ecosystem up close and personal.

If all this wonderment was not enough, there is more!  The last two pages of the book show beautifully rendered images of each creature and its name. These pages will allow you and your child to go back through the book to search for each creature. What an opportunity for learning!

My children are grown but shortly after I first leafed through a copy of One Night, Far from Here, I purchased it for myself.  I could not let this book get away.