Light Up the Night by Jean Reidy (and illustrated by Margaret Chodos-Irvine; Disney Hyperion, 2011) is the story of a young child recognizing his place in the universe. The boy imagines he flies in a rocket to see the night stars in his universe. He introduces us the planets of his universe, then the earth, then the country, and so forth, eventually coming back to his room, and his bed, where he has gone to sleep.
This is a nice introduction to the big picture of the universe, with bright and fun illustrations to take the young child there. It’s also a nice reminder that we each have our own place, especially at night when it’s time to sleep. My 5-year-old son, who is interested in space, stars, and the night sky, enjoyed the book. He loved how, in the end, he could find the sun, the train, the moon, the blanket that looked like a rocket ship, and other clues in the boy’s bedroom. It showed my son that the boy’s otherworldly adventure had been an imaginative one.
