ALA Booklist (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Beckerman introduces young readers to several natural phenomena and the scientific explanations behind them, including sunrise and sunset, lightning, rainbows, solar eclipses, volcanic eruptions, fireflies, meteor showers, auroras, and full moons. She employs two levels of text: simple, lyrical statements that end with the refrain "the sky glows," and slightly more complex paragraphs clarifying why these events occur. For example, "Around the world, / when morning comes . . . / the sky glows" is followed by a description of sunrays at daybreak traveling long distances, resulting in shortwave colors (blue and green) being filtered out. Most occurrences are described within two double-page spreads with explanations appearing beneath the refrains. Litchfield's luminescent digital illustrations brim with color and setting details. His skies are particularly noteworthy (lightning flashing green and yellow; a volcano spewing red and gold), but he also excels with smaller details (puffins experiencing the aurora borealis; cityscapes aglow under a full moon). Appended with further resources, this versatile offering will be welcomed in story hours and primary science lessons both.

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Around the world, when morning comes...the sky glows.

Kirkus Reviews

Around the world, natural events make the sky glow.With a simple, repetitive verse and short explanatory descriptions, Beckerman presents occasions when the sky fills with light and color. The sun's rising and setting, lightning storms, rainbows, solar eclipses, full moons, volcanic eruptions, mating fireflies, meteor showers, and auroras-all are opportunities to admire unusual displays in the natural world. Litchfield's color-drenched illustrations glow as well. They show people appreciating nature in a variety of environments. This picture series begins and ends with a child in bed: a red-haired, light-skinned child rising with the sun in a rural setting; a dark-skinned boy waking in a city. Each topic is presented on a spread on which a few words on a block of color on the recto oppose a full-bleed image; this is followed by a luminous double-page scene illustrating the sky's glow. An explanatory paragraph is relatively unobtrusive on the lower right-truly a two-level text. In one image, a brown-skinned photographer is almost hidden behind a camera; the page turn reveals that they are taking advantage of a golden sunset to photograph large African animals. On another spread, a light-skinned adult and child walk through a firefly-filled woods, and on another page, seated around a campfire, a tan-skinned family admires meteors showering from the sky (in unlikely numbers). The backmatter mentions light pollution and offers sources for further research. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A beautiful and informative title for a sense-of-wonder storytime. (Informational picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly

Cross Beckerman (Down Under the Pier) and Litchfield (the Bear and the Piano books) visit varied locales in this picture book, investigating natural events during which “the sky glows”—from sunrises and sunsets to lightning and the aurora borealis. Each two-spread pairing starts with an economic visual of humans observing light (“when morning comes...”); with a turn of the page, the specific scenario is revealed in a full-bleed spread (“the sky glows”), accompanied by an approachable scientific explanation (about a sunrise’s warm hues, “When the sun is low on the horizon, the sunrays travel through longer distances, so colors with short wavelengths... are filtered out”). In another such vignette, a racially diverse group of water sports enthusiasts wait out a rainstorm under a roofed pier (“On a tropical misty island, when raindrops stop...”); the reveal shows a sunny sky filled with sparkling bands of color, and readers learn how rainbows are made, and why “the combination of wet weather and sunny skies” makes Hawaii “the Rainbow State.” The digital illustrations seem powered by their own energy source, with pages awash in radiant layers. It’s a glowing example of what happens when science and a sense of wonder converge. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Victoria Wells Arms, Wells Arms/HG Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright Agency. (Sept.)