The night box by Louise Greig illustrated by Ashling Lindsay

The lock waits for a key!

Here are the first lines from this lyrical picture book:

Day is yawning.
Quiet settles in the trees.
The birds fold their wings,
the singing stops.

Then read this:

Day slips out of the leaves,
out of the pond,
out of the pink rose
and the blue ball.
Max waves goodbye.

Max holds the key. He owns the box. When the time is right, Max opens the box and lifts the lid and day slips inside while night sweeps out. The night is beautiful and gradually all the nocturnal animals emerge. For Max, night means sleeping in his warm bed with his teddy bear. Eventually night needs to fall asleep so Max opens his box again and night slips inside as day sweeps out.

The idea of night and day held in a box to be released by a small boy who holds the key is a beautiful idea. If you are a collector of picture books or you need a special book to give as a gift I highly recommend The Night Box. There are wonderful little details in the illustrations and the writing is poetic and reassuring.

Max’s power to take charge of night and to celebrate as helets day out “and a new song begins” is evocative, simple, and reassuring. Kirkus Star review

The gentle, lyrical text dances across each page,complemented by the luminous illustrations that shine like the 'thousand stars'in the sky. Kids’ Book Review

If you have a child at home who gets nervous about the dark or worked up before bed, try this story. It is calming to read, adding a sense of tranquility and peace to a time that can be fraught with anxiety. Happily Ever Elephants

Sometimes a picture book text just flows over you, like the gentle lapping of a stream's cool currents or the whisper of a summer breeze. ReaditDaddy

The night box was short listed for many awards including the 2018 Klaus Flugge Prize and the paperback edition is currently available. Here are are set of very detailed teaching notes which focus on the language used in The night box.

Louise Greig and Ashling Lindsay have another book - Between Tick and Tock.