Night Creatures: Firefly
An uplifting and lyrical story of light, hope, and wonder
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
From two of the U.K.'s best-known book makers, Robert Macfarlane and Luke Adam Hawker, comes a stunning picture book to ignite wonder in readers everywhere.
In the darkness of December,
Through the winter's deepest snowing,
When the world is ste ep in camber,
And all hope is downwards-flowing
Then's the time to seek what's glowing...
Written in lyrical verse, this story follows one sun-seeking child who discovers a meadow illuminated by fireflies: "fallen constellations" that dance like stars among the summer grasses, setting fears to flight. Enchanting to read aloud and exquisite to hold in the hand, each scene is rendered in spellbinding detail, showing the power of hope in a world steeped in darkness.
The first in a trilogy, Firefly is sure to appeal to all ages:
• An uplifting and lyrical story of light, hope, and wonder
• With words from beloved and New York Times bestselling author Robert Macfarlane, creator of The Lost Words and The Lost Spells
• Stunning artwork created from original etchings by Luke Adam Hawker, whose debut book Together was a Sunday Times bestseller
• Spectacular gift book, cloth bound with a copper foiled cover
• This accessible story is perfect for children and adults, ages 7 and above
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a captivating series starter from Macfarlane (The World to Come) and Hawker (The Last Tree), spell-like verse and moody copper plate etchings rally around a lone figure's efforts to resist winter's doldrums. As the book opens, a small figure is shown confronting a densely hatched November forest with thick shadows and stark branches. The tone shifts with the suggestion to, following December's arrival, "seek what's glowing," and alliterative, assonant lines highlight spots of brightness amid winter's gloom: "Saturn's glimmer,/ Snowdrift's shine and comet's shimmer." The path through darkness isn't without peril—mid-book, the nearly featureless figure, whose skin echoes the white of the page, plummets through scratchy blackness. Again, text steps in to uplift ("But that's the hour you must muster/ All the glint and all the lustre") as it reiterates appreciation for gleaming entities—a firefly, "glittering ghosts, electric angels," constellations, and more. Finally, hands are shown cupping a luminous ball, and the figure stands before a marvelous conflagration that carries "fears to flight,/ set night on fire." A kind of charm to will away spirit-darkening forces, the book offers a balm for winter weariness. Ages 5–7. Author's agent: Jessica Woollard, David Higham Assoc.
