Night Walk by Jason Cockeroft [Review]

ISBN: 9781536239614
Hardcover $18.99 USA
Candlewick Press

My thoughts: This is a lovely book in several aspects. While the grandfather is drawn or painted with a somewhat angular style, he is still pictured as a gentle, endearing character. He and the child go on a walk at night and this walk is special. They walk remembering all the things that the grandmother loved about her own walks - especially at night.

As they walk, they talk and wonder if each spot is grandmother's favorite. Only at the end do they find that very special spot.

The book doesn't really talk of death, but it is sensed in the sweet and sober memories of grandmother.

The illustrations of each two-page spread beautifully capture the richness of the country-side at night with lots of foliage, critters, and beautiful expanses of sky.

About the book:  This tender intergenerational story about loss and remembrance is set against the extraordinary beauty of the natural world.

In the darkness just before sunrise, a sleepy boy and his grandfather set off on Grandma’s favorite walk to find her favorite place. Is it the woods where multicolored moths flutter? Or the stream with its leaping frogs and flashing trout? The hidden hollow where a mother deer lives with her fawn? As grandfather and grandchild stand gazing over the water to the horizon, and the sun begins to rise, it becomes clear to the boy that they’ve finally reached Grandma’s favorite place—and it’s the perfect spot to remember her. With stunning illustrations evoking the wonder of wild creatures, the chill of the air at dawn, and the golden light of the sun as it rises, author-illustrator Jason Cockcroft captures a quiet moment in one child’s life that will long reverberate.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Candlewick Press, to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.