This is a strong piece of writing, great for covering the whole diurnal and nocturnal transition of wildlife. I was very impressed by this text. It doesn't beat you over the head with a multitude of facts about each animal. Instead it focuses almost exclusively on the time of day that they are active and vice versa. Good introductory science text. ( )

The cover to this book got my attention right away. Burnett's striking gouache colors - deep sunset reds and twilight blues and purples leap off of the cover. Inside, Kudlinski's rhyming text pairs daytime animals with their nighttime counterparts. The Goshawk goes to sleep as the Owl wakes up and the grey squirrel goes to sleep as the flying squirrel wakes up. The pairs are set against backgrounds showing their shared food, which is a really nice touch. The main illustrations of the page are bold and beautiful, like the cover. However, these illustrations are set in semi circles and bordered with thick hand painted lines, which detract from many of the main images. I understand that the semicircle evokes the setting sun, but the last illustration, which is in a rectangular border, works so much better that I wish they were all in rectangles. I also don't like the font choice of Papyrus, but I can't imagine any kid being bothered by it. All in all the design of the book reduces the impact of the art for me.
There is some cool science to explore here beyond diurnal animals and their nocturnal pairs. Kids will be interested in the flying squirrel, the coiled tounge of the butterfly, the patterns of the moth and the firey surface of the sun. They will also enjoy trying to spot the counterpart animal hidden in each page. I really like that the science is not taught, but carefully placed for the reader to discover in this poetic bedtime story. ( )