Gideon Sterer and Mariachiara Di Giorgio's wordless The Midnight Fair is a breathtaking nocturnal adventure.
Our story starts on the first endpaper, with silhouetted animals watching humans set up a fair at sunset. We stay with this perspective until the area is completely emptied of humans and the animals can move in, away from the shadows and onto the fairgrounds. They work together to make the most out of this once in a lifetime opportunity by playing games, riding rides, eating food, and having fun together. And of course, they clean up too, conscious that they are using someone else's space. Illustrator Di Giorgio takes advantage of the carnival setting by using interesting angles and unique perspectives to heighten the energy of this nighttime escapade, and there's a "main character" to follow through the narrative who has a sweet character arc. Perhaps the loveliest design detail is on the dust jacket, which is speckled with rainbow-colored foil that shimmers like stars in the night sky.
The Midnight Fair published earlier this week from Candlewick Press. You can also read an interview I did many years ago with Mariachiara about her illustration process here!
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