review from PW

 Night Song

Mk Smith Despres, illus. by Hyewon Yum.

In this lyrically told be-yourself story, a

frog named Bernardo longs to join the

birds whose dawn song inspires the sun,

which in turn "gently unfolded the flowers,

dried the night-damp stones, and leaned

across the backs of the leaves to dance across

the forest floor." The pleasure that other

creatures take in this beauty ("The fishes

in the pond swam in the song, the drag-

onflies hummed along") spur Bernardo's

desire to sing like the birds. "I'd like to do

that.... I'd like to make the whole woods

happy,

happy," he thinks. But attempts to

become more avian-adorning himself in

colorful leaves, ascending a tree--are met

with stern looks. The frog's perspective

doesn't shift until a small friend reminds

Bernardo of the role he plays in another

musical drama: the dusk song that puts

the woods to sleep. Assured lines by

debut creator Smith Despres convey the

wonder of change brought by the day':

rhythms, while limpid colored pencil,

watercolor, and ink spreads by Yum (Luli

and the Language of Tea) deliver giggles and

render subtly changing light and color in

this hymn to contemplating one's