The illustrator's website is http://www.bethkrommes.com/

This winner of the Caldecott Medal is a beautiful book. The illustrations are dreamy. I loved the contrast of the black and white lines with the bright yellow. This book would make a great read aloud for a young classroom during rest time. It could also be incorporated into an art lesson on line. This book gives you a warm fuzzy feeling. It turns the house in the night into a warm comforting place to be.

The House in the Night is a great bedtime/quiet time story which uses minimal words, and fantastic illustrations to tell the story of a young girl, her home and her surreal flying experiences. ( )

The girl reads a book and her imagination take flight. She imagines she soars on the back of a bird.

Told in a format like the nursery rhyme on which it is based, we see the bits of light that shine in and around the house after the sun sets. The contrast of light and dark is beautifully portrayed in the black, white, and bright gold illustrations. The rhythm of the story might also make it a good book to read aloud. ( )

This book is all about a house during the night and the things that make it a home as the night light shines down upon it. The author uses short phrases on each page to describe the house at night. It focuses on all the things that matter in the house.

This is a good source of poetry because it reflects happenings that are going on at nighttime. This story uses words that reflect feelings about bedtime and what it means to the child in the story.

media: pen and sketching

This very simple text is accompanied by a very simple illustration style - detailed, yet easy on the eyes. I love the white - on-black feel, with golden bits reminiscent of the moon and stars. There is a key on a hook next to a bed, near a book....and then the story takes on an adventure, but comes back again to the cozy bedroom, where the little girl is soundly asleep. So sweet.

In this beautifully but simply illustrated book, children will name nighttime things. It is very repetitive, so it is perfect for beginning readers, but any child would enjoy the wonderful pictures. It would be great around October. Here is a blog that describes a great art project that could be done along with the book: http://www.helpreaderslovereading.com... ( )

I loved the illustrations in the book; they were very whimsical and quite different from the typical children's storybook artwork. It reminded me a lot of classic stories such as the night before Christmas. The pacing seemed similar to nursery rhymes such as There was an Old Woman. The story was simple and seemed to be more like poetry than anything else but nonetheless it left the reader with a lasting impression. ( )

Genre-Realistic Fiction
This is a good example of realistic fiction because the story is of a little girl who reads a book and imagines the bird in the book flying through the air. The book is about the experience one child has with objects which give off light. These objects are objects true to our world today, and the story could happen to any child.
Plot: This is a good example of a simplistic, episodic plot for a child. The story starts with the key to the house and goes on to talk about the objects of light in the house and the bird in the book. There is no real conflict. The story ends with the repetition of the key theme and the repetition of words ("sun in the moon, moon in the dark..."). The plot takes the reader through a simple sequence of actions and objects that a child can follow. It is cohesive.
Media: Scratchboard and watercolor

The illustrations in this book were beautiful. This is a great bedtime story. The story is told in a rhyme similar to a nursery rhyme (This is the key of the kingdom/ In that kingdom is a city) as told in the authors notes. The story goes through the house and focuses on different bedtime items. It is told in a circular story, it began and ended the same. I really enjoyed this book. It would be a good way to illustrate circular stories to a class and have them write circular stories of their own. Good for grades 1-3. ( )

tradition of Good Night, Moon ( )

A beautifully illustrated book about a journey through a house focusing on night time items, such as a bed, book, moon, and etc. It is inspired by traditional poetry. This book exhibits patterned text and circular storytelling.

This website http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork... gives more information about the author and a summary of the other books she has written. ( )

This Caldecott Medal winner is a great bedtime story or even class read aloud for a younger group. It is about a young boy who takes an adventure around the town at night. The illustrations are wonderful and on every page, your attention is drawn to the yellow section on the black and white backdrop. I like this book because it is short, simple, and discriptive. It is different from most books because of the color choices. In a way it reminded me of Goodnight Moon. ( )

Summary:
This book is a bedtime story that lists nighttime things like a house, a key, a light, a book. It describes the things like; in the house there burns a light. In the light there rests a bed.
Personal Reaction:
I really enjoyed this book it would be a wonderful bedtime story for children. The pictures are very intricate and interesting. I would definitely recommend this book for someone with children.
Classroom Extension:
This book might be a good way to relax small children before nap time or just to relax them. It would be a good example of non-rhyming poetry. ( )

http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork...

A child explores a new world while reading his or her bedtime story

Has certain elements that stand out on each page. Mellow, easy read great for bedtime. Young child takes a night flight on the wings of imagination.

This a cute story told in a simple text that is similar to forms of poetry. This book could almost be considered as a bedtime story read but could extend into the classroom for younger classes. The story allows the reader to go beyond the walls of our homes to envision our imagination coming into reality. I could see a creative project come from reading this book in which the students would recreate their own "House In The Night' with their personal touches. ( )

A beautiful picture book sure to bring up warm memories. The pictures entail everything homey. An easy read that is sure to be perfect for bedtime.

A Caldecott award-winning book that is a wonderful picture book for older students. The illustrations are remarkable, and the words are few but say so much. ( )

I liked this book because there were certain elements that stood out more than others and they were highlighted in yellow. I think the black and white backdrop made the book very dramatic and made certain elements more important than others. It was very warm and inviting and gave me a sense of family.

There are certain elements that stand out on each page. It is a very mellow, easy read that is great for bed time. A young child takes a night flight on the wings of imagination. It is very warm and touching of family and the home.

The House in the Night takes the reader on a journey beginning in a house and through a book ends up flying through the dark starry night. The story is very short and simple but leads the reader to use their imagination and see that anything is possible.

I liked the way the author uses short, descriptive sentences to lead the reader to the next adventure. The pictures are very captive and the use of yellow on a certain spot on each page really catches your eye and focus on the point in each sentence on the page.

I would use this as an introduction to helping students write their own creative short stories. Getting them to use their imagination and see that fantasy makes for good writing. Also, with the brilliant pictures used in this book, it would make for a great introduction to astrology or astronomy.

This book is a wonderful bed-time book for children. There are certain elements in the book that stand out on each page. The book is about a child who takes a flight during the night time. There are beautiful illustrations on every page. This story consists of warm feelings of home and family. This is a great read aloud book for a teacher to read to her students. ( )