School Library Journal Starred Review

PreS-Gr 1--Unusual double-page spreads in deep nighttime colors, with the shapes of frolicking children, trees, houses, and animals only dimly seen, are sparked by the glowing orbs of fireflies as a red-haired, round-faced brother and sister capture the glowworms one by one and put them in a jar. When 10 are imprisoned and brought into the house, their lights blink out. Then the window is opened, they are released immediately, and they fly up into the darkness, flashing once again. The rhymed text of this counting book (1-10 and back again) is lyrical, expressive, varied, and excellent for reading out loud. The illustrations reflect the universal mystery and excitement of playing outdoors on a summer night and catching those strange creatures lit by cold fire.--Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA

ALA Booklist

With a beautiful summer evening serving as backdrop, 10 fireflies disappear, one by one, from the dark sky as a young boy and girl capture them and put them in a jar. As each one vanishes from the sky, corresponding text counts down from 10 to 1. Simultaneously, the glow of the fireflies' light reappears in the jar, and the count goes up from 1 to 10, providing a visual exercise in addition and subtraction. Teachers will love this truly whole language book, which concludes with the children watching the fireflies fly away one by one. Sturges' singsongy text, with its repetition and rhyme, makes it perfect for choral reading, and it also would nicely complement a science unit on insects. Vojtech's striking illustrations are beautifully rendered in muted shades of violet and green, providing a rich, dark foil for the glow of the fireflies. This most unusual counting book captures the charm and innocence of a favorite summertime activity. (Reviewed June 1 & 15, 1995)

Horn Book

One summer night a brother and sister count down from ten to one as they capture 'flashing fireflies burning bright' and then count up from one to ten as they fill a glass jar with them. The bright bug-lanterns appear as glowing spheres against a canvas of dark pastel illustrations that aptly evoke the mystery and pleasure of a favorite summertime ritual.

Kirkus Reviews

Don't use the e'' word (ecology) on this nighttime reverie. Into the gloaming go two children, intent on gathering an ensemble of fireflies. One, two, three, four . . . their quarry mounts to ten, flashing bright in their glass cage. When the children retire for the night, they find that the fireflies areBlinking so slowly in our jar.'' Off comes the lid and the fireflies escape into the night, dazzling again. Sturges's text counts up and back, a liturgical melodiousness in its pleasant, repetitive fashioning. The story is entirely at home in Vojtech's dreamy, nocturnal watercolors, the fireflies radiating just the right amount of magical incandescence. There is a summer's insouciance to the illustrations, which show warm, rich colors coaxed from the darkling landscape: The bright windows add a secure note, the shadowy silhouettes of the pine woods a touch of menace. If the message regarding freedom and caring is well trod, it's all for the best; a message like this bears repeating. A book quietly luminous as its subject. (Picture book. 3-6)"

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Breaking up the deep grays, purples and the black of night with incandescent spots of light, the illustrator of this imaginatively conceived book captures the magic of summer evenings and the mysterious glow of fireflies. These marvelous creatures of nature, meanwhile, are deployed in debut author Sturges's poetic counting lesson. ``What do we see in the summer night?/ Ten flashing fireflies burning bright!/ Catch the one twinkling there/ Like a star./ One flashing firefly in our jar.'' A brother and sister add nine more fireflies to their collection; later, in their bedroom, they free the fireflies when their light begins to fade, counting down from 10 to one as the insects escape through the window and begin to glow again. This counting book, with atmospheric, dusky chalk illustrations and a subtle lesson in compassion, makes a memorable entry in a heavily populated picture-book category. Ages 3-6. (May)