I may have mentioned in prior posts that this past spring I took on a position in our church to help coordinate the nursery. Our nursery serves about 40 children and their families each week who are between infants and 3 years old.

I am always on the lookout for books and toys that the children will be taken with and reinforce what we teach them about God and His creation.

I recently had the opportunity to review the book Lights Out, Night's Out written by William Boniface and illustrated by Milena Kirkova (Andrews McMeel Publishing).



I would like to make clear that this book is not written from a religious point of view. It is a beautiful story with rhyming words of nocturnal animals, with phenomenal illustrations enhanced by AniMotion™.

If you thought you could only view HD on your t.v. screen, put down your remote and pull out this book. The High Definition fluorescent inks used in the illustrations, combined with the animation windows on each page will have your kids stuck to this book.


If you have never seen a book in the AniMotion™ series, the best way I can describe it is like a lenticular (remember those little cards you'd get out of the Cracker Jack boxes where the picture changed when you shifted it?). Each time your child turns the page, it looks as if the picture is moving.  (In the above picture you can kind of make out the effect with the owls in the tree.)

Hedgehogs, crickets, wolves and other nocturnal animals are featured between the pages poetically letting us know what they do while we're all tucked in bed.

The 24 hardboard pages are sturdy and will stand up to lots of turning, which is good, because I foresee it getting read a lot!  When one child put the book down this past Sunday, another picked it up.  One little girl just kept turning the pages, back and forth, back and forth, to see the pictures move.  One of our nursery workers was humored that the foxes eyes really looked "sly", lol.

Whether you want a unique book with a little bit of different theme for your children, or are looking for a story to show the variety of created animals that God made like I am using it for, this book is sure to enchant and please both children and adults alike.

Lights Out, Night's Out is available at book retailers or can be purchased at Andrews McMeel's website.