George and His Nighttime Friends by debut author and seasoned illustrator Seng Soun Ratanavanh shines a light into the dark corners of bedtime and shows readers there's nothing to fear, only adventure to discover. This book has also inspired me to start showing the whole book jacket because the back deserves some love too! But I'm sticking to the digital interiors until my photography skills improve...
George is scared of the dark and always has a hard time falling asleep. He wishes he had a nighttime friend, someone to help put him at ease and show him that the nighttime isn't so scary after all. One night a mouse shows up, taking him on a magical journey through his own house where there are other small creatures waiting to befriend him and show him that being afraid shouldn't stop anyone from trying new things.
True to form, Ratanavanh's illustrations are bright, colorful, and composed of heavily pattered blocks of color. The heavy patterning cleverly encourages readers to slow down when taking in this story or risk missing small recurring details in the illustrations. Ratanavanh also really gets a chance to shine (pun intended) when it comes to depicting light and shadow, with defined light pouring in from windows, cracks in doors, candles, and even the stars!
George and His Nighttime Friends publishes on October 19, 2021 from Princeton Architectural Press! You can also read an interview I did last year with Seng Soun about her illustration process (and this very book) here!
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