Night Walk to the Sea: A Story about Rachel Carson, Earth's Protector

by Deborah Wiles (Author) Daniel Miyares (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

This luminous picture book by an award-winning author and acclaimed illustrator is the perfect tool to discuss the importance of the natural world with young children, as well as introduce them to environmental activist Rachel Carson.

"I'm not afraid!" shouts Roger when he hears thunder outside...but he is afraid. When the storm quiets, his aunt Rachel decides to take him on a walk to see the beauty of the natural world at night. Over his Godzilla pj's goes his rain slicker; onto his feet go his monster boots, and together he and Rachel head down the rocky path to the sea. On the way they discover many marvels--a screech owl calling to its mate, ghost crabs tunneling in the sand, and most incredibly, the luminous life that lights up the water. When they find a tiny firefly who has lost its way, they bring it home and release it back into the woods. At last, Rachel tucks Roger into bed, telling him he is nature's brave protector. An afterword introducing young readers to Rachel Carson, and explaining bioluminiscence, adds to the appeal of the book.

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$17.99

Kirkus

Doesn’t quite jell but worthwhile reading nevertheless.

Publishers Weekly

Loosely based on two anecdotes from the ecologist and writer Rachel Carson's life (1907-1964), Wiles's fictional tale focuses on the emotional world of Roger, a small child who pivots from fear in a power outage to stomping waves to delicately rescuing a waterlogged firefly "as carefully as the most gentle monster" in the company of his caregiver, Carson. Descriptions of nature are especially poignant: "they released the firefly... watched it flit and circle and wink away." Miyares's dreamlike illustrations complement the lengthy poetic text, using light and dark to evoke Roger's sense of confidence, comfort, fear, and wonder while conjuring the magic of a flashlight-lit walk to a bioluminescent ocean on a thundery night. Some readers may find the title misleading, however, as historical information about Carson's significant life and legacy appear only as back matter. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

ALA/Booklist

By relating one child's encounters with awesome natural wonders, this quiet picture book lets others feel his satisfaction in saving a firefly and becoming a protector of nature.

Review quotes

Praise for Night Walk to the Sea: 

"Miyares' ink paintings render the deep night as mysterious and welcoming, a lush, velvety place where cozy closeness of the woods gives way to a majestic sea, with a pair of sturdy characters who move lightly through environments that they can appreciate but not fully own." —The Bulletin

Praise for Daniel Miyares' Night Out:

There aren't any lessons or morals—just the pleasure of watching a lonely boy find the friendship he wishes for. —Publishers Weekly, starred review

Praise for That is My Dream!:

A must-read illustrated poem that breathes new life into Hughes' Dream Variation. —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

With luminous washes of watercolor and the lyrical language of Hughes's 1924 poem as his text, Miyares (That Neighbor Kid) presents a resonant vision of an African-American boy who imagines a more just world. —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Deborah Wiles
Deborah Wiles is the author of several highly acclaimed books, including two National Book Award finalists--Each Little Bird that Sings and Revolution. Her first picture book, Freedom Summer, received the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. She is also an NAACP Book Award finalist, E.B. White Award winner, Golden Kite Award winner, Jane Addams Peace Award Finalist, and recipient of a PEN Phyllis Reynolds Naylor Working Writer Fellowship. Visit her on the web at deborahwiles.com or follow her on Twitter at @DeborahWiles101

Daniel Miyares is the illustrator of That is My Dream!, a picture book version of Langston Hughes's "Dream Variation," which received two starred reviews, and more recently, Night Out. Other picture books include Float, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book of the Year, which The Boston Globe called "a perfect wordless picture book;" Pardon Me!, which PW declared "Follows in the footsteps of Jon Klassen"; and Surf's Up by Newbery Medalist Kwame Alexander. For his day job, he works at Hallmark Cards. Visit him on the Web at danielmiyares.com or follow him on Twitter at @danielmiyares.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781524701475
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Schwartz & Wade Books
Publication date
September 20, 2020
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV004020 - Juvenile Fiction | Biographical | United States
JUV016000 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | General
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
JUV002360 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Nocturnal
Library of Congress categories
Picture books
Nature
Night
Seashore
Carson, Rachel
Bioluminescence

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