Day Light, Night Light: Where Light Comes From

Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2

by Franklyn M. Branley, Stacey Schuett (Illustrator)

Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science books help satisfy a young child's curiosity about the world books. Each book in the series introduces basic science concepts and builds on them using a step-by-step method, based on theories about how young children should learn best. Stage 1 books explain simple and easily observable science concepts to preschool and kindergarten-age children. Stage 2 books explore more challenging concepts for children in the primary grades and include hands-on activities that children can do themselves. Did you know that moonlight is really sunlight? The moon can't make its own light, so it receives light from the sun and then sends it to us here on the Earth.

Any child who's ever wondered about the fascinating properties of light will want to read this classic science title. Readers will even learn how fast light can from the moon to the Earth in less than three seconds! Veteran science author Franklyn M. Branley's lively text and Stacey Schuett's new illustrations combine fun facts and hands-on activities in this accessible introduction to the science of light.

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Franklyn M. Branley was the originator of the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series and the author of close to 150 popular books about scientific topics for young readers of all ages. He was Astronomer Emeritus and former Chairman of the American Museum of Natural History-Hayden Planetarium.

Reviews

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of good information presented clearly. I'm not enamored of the illustrations/design. First, black text on dark blue is nearly impossible to read. There are two pages like this. I wish they instead had used the white text that is used on black pages. The other thing is that the illustrations don't fit closely with the text in a lot of cases.

One point that might be worth quibbling about is the idea "Light comes from things that are very hot. [...] They must be very hot to make light." There are sources of light that aren't hot - like an LED or a firefly. It appears this was not adjusted when this book was republished in 1998 as Day Light, Night Light: Where Light Comes From, Stage 2.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This introduction to light sources wasn't my favorite of the Let's Read and Find Out books. Though it includes a lot of information, some pages are difficult to read because the font color and background don't work well together, and now, just several days after reading the book, I've already forgotten almost everything else about it. It just didn't make a strong impression.

[Maggie Panning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a quick, informative read with some really good tidbits for kids. When you are out on a full moon night and you can see all around you (especially if there's good snow cover) we tend to think that the moon is really illuminating everything. But, the moon does not have its own light source. It is just reflecting sunlight and then the snow and the trees and everything else are reflecting that light back. So, even in the middle of the night the sun is giving us light.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book which talks about how things either produce light or absorb it.

[Angie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Synopsis: "Moonlight is really sunlight!
Did you know that the moon doesn't make its own light? Instead, it receives light from the sun and reflects it to us on the Earth. Read and find out about how the sun, the stars and light bulbs make light so we can see.Did you know that moonlight is really sunlight? The moon can't make its own light, so it receives light from the sun and then sends it to us here on the Earth.

Any child who's ever wondered about the fascinating properties of light will want to read this classic science title. Readers will even learn how fast light can travel: from the moon to the Earth in less than three seconds! Veteran science author Franklyn M. Branley's lively text and Stacey Schuett's new illustrations combine fun facts and hands-on activities in this accessible introduction to the science of light.

Did you know that moonlight is really sunlight? The moon can't make its own light, so it receives light from the sun and then sends it to us here on the Earth.

Any child who's ever wondered about the fascinating properties of light will want to read this classic science title. Readers will even learn how fast light can travel: from the moon to the Earth in less than three seconds! Veteran science author Franklyn M. Branley's lively text and Stacey Schuett's new illustrations combine fun facts and hands-on activities in this accessible introduction to the science of light."

My Review: This book came in a box of used books and it seemed like an interesting book with great learning opportunities. Unfortunately this book took it way to far and became too technical and scientific for the audience. It would have been good if it had just focused on one concept dealing with light (ie. reflection) but it went into detail of many forms of light. Munchkin is a little advanced and often enjoys non-fiction books but this one was long and confusing for him, it is definitely not a book for someone reading picture books.

[Rachel Keller · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I love the illustrations in this book! They are realistic enough, but also so beautiful and exciting. They really play with light and shadow and truly take the reader into the exploration of light and dark. The idea of the book is to understand where light comes from - both naturally and man made. This book would be an independent read for third grade and above, but would work as a read aloud for the younger grades. I think it would be exciting to allow children to work with flashlights and/or other sources of light, as inspired by the book. The part of the book that I like the most was page 17, where there is an illustration that has arrows that showing how the light bounces and moves. It is a simple illustration, but I think it very effectively demonstrates the idea and movement of light to younger readers. Great book and needs to be in my classroom library!

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 2 out of 5]

We used this book for kindergarten science instruction. While the key points:

Light is made things that are hot.
Things that don't make light reflect it so we can see them (moon, people, natural things, toys).
Light is fast.
Light travels in straight lines.
Shadows are created when an object is in the light.

are helpful in establishing a beginning concept of light, I found the text choppy and skipped some pages to try to avoid confusion. An adequate resource, but definitely not one to purchase. I hope something better comes out that can be as engaging as Robert E. Wells.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was surprised to see a picture book like this in the non-fiction section. It is in fact a non-fiction book, but it reads like a story. It repeats the ideas it wants you to learn, so by the end of the book you've got the concept, but it's done well, and not in an annoying way. This book will be remembered in my family b/c it gave us an opportunity to talk about how your pupils grow larger and smaller to let the light in or out. My son loved looking at the light and watching his pupils shrink, and then looking in the mirror as they expanded again.

[Kim Bogren Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Day Light, Night Light: Where Light Comes From by Frankly M. Branley and Stacey Schuett provides children with the basic science of light and where it comes from- heat! This enjoyable read is just perfect for children under age 8. After reading this book extend your child's learning by letting them play with flashlights. Put the flashlights behind all sorts of things to see if the light can penetrate. Ask your child to predict what will happen, and hypothesize about why the light can or cannot penetrate an object.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Skipping just a few pages with a lot of words, this book would be great for a preschool storytime. Skipping pages wouldn't be necessary with younger school age kids. It makes learning about different kinds of light simple.

[Colleen]

It's Electrifying - unit 6
Leveled Books - Advanced

[Leslie Zinsmeister · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grade: K-1
Topic: Day and night sky

[Elanor]

All by herself!

[Little Champs]

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