Poetry: Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night

Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the night

by Joyce sidman

illustrated by rick allen

Sidman, Joyce, and Rick Allen. Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night. New York City, NY: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, 2010. 9780547152288

Plot Summary

Welcome to the night, when nature comes out to play. This collection includes twelve poems about the nocturnal life in the forest with accompanying factual discussions about each subject. Follow the story of the snail, the moth, the owl, the oak, the spider, the porcupette, the cricket, the mushrooms, the eft, the bat, and the moon as he laments the end of the night and the coming day as the sun begins to rise again.

Analysis

This collection of poems, written by Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Rick Allen, bring the darkness to life with expressive descriptions and wonderful relief paintings. The poems are printed on their pages in a way that promotes the rhythm and flow of the words. Sidman uses varied poetic forms and rhyme schemes to bring each poem its own unique flavor. The poems are playful, wistful, philosophical, and can even make readers ponder what they have just read. The opening poem "Welcome to the Night" sets the scene for the rest of the collection by declaring "The night's a sea of dappled dark, / the night's a feast of sound and spark, / the night's a wild, enchanted park. / Welcome to the night!" This lets readers know that the poems will describe the sights and sounds of the forest as the creatures wake from their daily slumber. The accompanying scientific descriptions of each subject in the poems adds to the depth of these poems by allowing readers to understand the subjects more so than they would without them. Sidman even includes a glossary at the end to further aid the reader in understanding the creatures of the forest.

Rick Allen's illustrations were created through a method called relief printing. A drawing is transferred onto a hard medium and carved away, and then the remaining areas that were left uncut are then covered in ink and printed on paper by hand or a printing press. Each of the illustrations within this collection used at least three blocks of color and were then hand-colored with a strongly pigmented watercolor called gouache. The stark lines created in this method of illustration demonstrate the textures of the forest, from the bark on the oak tree to the fur of the mouse.

A review excerpt from Horn Book Magazine states "Sidman and Allen have created a lively night world of raccoons and snails, owls and spiders, mushrooms and bats that welcomes readers into night’s “wild, enchanted park.” Allen’s gorgeous relief prints made from linoleum blocks offer luscious images to complement elegant poetry and nonfiction explorations. The book ends as night ends, the moon lamenting, “Alas. Another eternity of sunbeams to wait.” But readers need not wait; they can enter the book at will and revel in this beautiful nighttime world."

“Picture Book Honor Books.” 2012. Horn Book Magazine 88 (1): 24. https://search-ebscohost-com.ezp.twu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=brd&AN=69841636&site=ehost-live.

Awards

Newbery Honor Book - 2011

Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award Honor Book

Boston Globe/Horn Book Award Honor Book

Horn Book Fanfare

NCTE Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts

Bulletin Blue Ribbon

Booklist Editor's Choice

CBC Bank Street Best Book of the Year (starred)

Chicago Public Library Best book of the Year

NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book

Cybils Poetry Award Finalist

Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award

Connections

Readers will enjoy learning about the different creatures that come out at night, so pairing this book with other nonfiction books that feature these creatures would allow them to explore these concepts even further.

Other books about nocturnal creatures:

Stanek, Linda: Night Creepers. 9781607183235

Marino, Gianna: Night Animals. 9780451469540

Srinivasan, Divya: Little Owl's Night. 9780670015795