Night Flight

Dreamy first-person narration and immersive art define this sweeping picture book, which tracks a child’s majestic after-dark flight astride a pterosaur. On “the coldest night” a child wants to “snuggle beneath my blankets// like Moon behind her clouds,” but worries about something “lost” leave the speaker wakeful. Seeking the missing element behind a frost-lined bedroom window, the child spots the pterosaur outside and hops on before the pair fly forth: “I search the park./ I search the city./ I search the river./ I search the dark.” Across a palette of cool, moody blues, chalk-like digital artwork by Mukodiri Uchendu (The Night Market) amplifies the book’s air of mystery amid the child’s quest, which routes among skyscrapers and above a bridge. After a mid-journey discovery, the outing turns playful until the youth tumbles back home—to a dinosaur-decorated bedroom and to previously absent loved ones’ hugs. Spare, precise text from Barclay Moore (Boyogi) highlights anchoring landscape elements across the child’s search, and the conclusion comes satisfyingly full circle in highlighting the warmth of home and family. Human characters cue as Black. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. Illustrator’s agent: Jessica Saint Jean, Jill Grinberg Literary. (Sept.)