Lilah Tov, good night

PreS-Gr 1--This brief bedtime poem is enhanced by the lovely illustrations depicting a Jewish immigrant tale. The text is concise and simple. In rhyming verse it declares that night is arriving and it's "Time to wish everyone good night." It then uses the Hebrew phrase "lilah tov" (good night) followed by a series of animals and items in nature, ending with the child tucked in bed. The rhymes work well, and the scansion only stumbles once. The luminous, digitally colored pencil illustrations tell a more expansive story. A little girl and her family gather their most precious items (including a menorah) into two bundles, and journey through the countryside across a body of water, ultimately reaching a new home. They are dressed in early 20th-century Eastern European clothes. The child gazes longingly back at her home upon departure, but no one is there to see them off, and the trip has no sense of fear. The full-bleed illustrations all depict nighttime scenes, some of the family traveling, others of them resting from their journey. The point of view often focuses on an animal in the foreground, with the family in the distant background. Oddly, their new home looks barely different than the one they left. VERDICT This book can be read as a simple bedtime story, or discussed as an immigrant tale. Either way, it will likely find a receptive audience with Jewish families in search of bedtime books, or families looking for immigrant stories. A pleasant addition.--Amy Lilien-Harper, Wilton Library, CT

As the sun sets and the moon rises, an unnamed young child says good night to everything in the natural landscape.In the simple, brief, descriptive text the child calls out, "Lilah Tov," to hens and roosters, bears and bats, beaches and waves, clouds and stars, fish and birds, mountains and streams. There is no other narrative, at least not in words. Naggan's lush, detailed, soft-edged landscapes provide another, deeper, and more nuanced level to the proceedings. "Lilah tov" means "good night" in Hebrew, and there is a menorah on the windowsill, indicating that this family is Jewish. By dress and household appearance, they seem to be living in the late 19th or early 20th century. After a simple meal, they pack their belongings and leave their small rural home. The protagonist is saying good night to the creatures and places spotted on what readers will see as a lengthy journey. Beneath a full moon a man rows them across a body of water, and the journey continues on the other side. At the end of their travels there is a new home awaiting them. They travel quietly and surreptitiously, but there is no explanation within the text of where they are and why they leave. Are they refugees escaping something dreadful? Each young reader will interpret the work differently depending on individual understanding and knowledge of history, or perhaps with a wise adult to help.Haunting and beautiful. (Picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.