Night Play:

by Lizi Boyd

It's time for bed. Everyone is asleep. Or are they?

Arlo and his stuffed animal friends like to put on pretend plays. But after Arlo falls asleep, his friends don't want to stop. Can they work together to put on their play?

Through fanciful paintings and a lively text, Lizi Boyd has once again tapped into the imaginary world of children. Her hallmark use of die-cut pages, along with a showstopping gatefold, will have readers of all ages shouting "Bravo!"

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Theatre, Humor, Friendship

26 pages, Hardcover

First published November 6, 2018

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The format of this book was great with the theater conceit and play. Arlo has a fine set of animal companions for adventuring. I'm guessing it is a fabulous bedtime book. I highly recommend going back through a second time to linger on the back drops. Brilliant.

Library copy

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Arlo drifts off to sleep in this creative picture-book tribute to the power of the imagination and of make-believe, his toys carry on, working on Act 2 of the play they were all putting together. Their shenanigans, beautifully captured on the die-cute pages, wake Arlo, who joins them for Act 3, before everyone finally goes to bed...

Like I Wrote You a Note , the only other title from author/illustrator Lizi Boyd that I have read, I enjoyed the artwork in Night Play immensely. Created in gouache, it has a charming almost-collage-like feeling to it, that perfectly matches the stage/play theme of the story. The die-cut pages at the center of the book enliven the reading experiences, and suggest such things as stage curtains and scene shifts. I don't know that the text here was particularly strong (something I noticed too in I Wrote You a Note ), but the central story idea is so well-matched to the artwork that I enjoyed this one all the same. Recommended to anyone looking for new picture-books about bedtime, imaginative play, and the curious activities our playthings get up to, after we fall asleep.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was hard to read, in that I actually had a difficult time figuring out how to turn the pages (it was a long day at the library...). Visually appealing, but needed a stronger plot. Ages 3-5.

[Gwen · Rating 1 out of 5]

The physical book was cool and interesting with the cut out pages but other than that it was just blah.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although a young boy named Arlo loves creating and acting out plays with his stuffed animal friends, he's too tired to continue one night. But his actors aren't quite ready for sleep so they continue the drama while he slumbers. Not only does this picture book capture the imagination of children and what they might dream of having happen, but it features pages of various sizes that can be lifted or moved aside like curtains on an actual stage to reveal the animals going through their paces in various acts. There is even a huge fold-out near the end. The images are created with gouache and feature cheerful colors. While I didn't like this one quite as much as some of Boyd's earlier work, I must give her credit for being able to peer into the minds of imaginative little boys like the one featured here. Haven't many of us wondered about what our stuffed animal friends get up to while we are in bed, fast asleep?

[Tiffany May Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

This children’s book has so much potential! The illustrations are darling- the texture of the paper is awesome and it’s cut so creatively to look like a stage with curtains. It’s a bedtime story starring a boy named Arlo who has animal friends that want to put on a nighttime play before they sleep. The main draw back of this book is that the dialogue is told- for lack of better words- in a text like “talking bubbles” (think comic book). It makes it very hard for little listeners to follow the story and while I don’t have a “new reader” aged child, I assume the the story would be too elementary by then. It really is a gorgeous book- it’s just one that seems more like something you want to display and keep pretty rather than read. So it’s a 3 star in terms of practicality and a 5 star in terms of beauty.

[Noah Rachal · Rating 1 out of 5]

A young boy named Arlo is trying to go to sleep, but his animal friends want to stay up and play "pretend acts". I guess the story is pursuing the demeanor of a circus considering the striped curtains and all the circus animals. Not to mention they list certain events of playing "Act 1, Act 2... etc". To make a long story short, the boy ends up helping the animals finish the acts, but there is no real resolution to this short story. I can appreciate the circus feeling I got from it, and I like how the story ended with Arlo and all the circus animals snuggled to sleep. But this seemed, to me, like an endless circle of nothing. I can honestly say there was little to no point in reading this book other than to kill time.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one! It's written in all dialogue as a play would be. The pages are beautifully cut and arranged to give the reader a kind of engagement that would otherwise be missing because there is so little story. The art is simplistic but works because there is a lot going on so it needs to be simplistic. Overall a winner.

[H Li · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Lizis illustrations. She use precise and effective visual Lagrange in her illustrations, which are also cute. while I personally found the story structure is a bit confusing.. maybe it’s designed for children who are familiar with play structures ?

[Kimberly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ah, this was so close to being a good book. The art is cute, I really liked the cutouts for the curtains...but the story was way too hard for my almost-3-year-old to follow and I doubt he will ask for this one again.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cut out pages look like curtains as the story moves from Act to Act. The young boy tries to stay awake to play with his stuffed animals. They want to put on more of the play and create the story as they go. Use to talk about imagination and filling in the story.

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was.... okay. Interesting concept, but it wasn't terribly interesting. Plus, I kept getting frustrated because I couldn't figure out where the pages were to turn because they were all different sizes.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are absolutely stunning--the star of the show. The story has no point and isn't even very fun. I feel like this book had so much potential and it just flopped. It only gets 3 stars because of the illustrations.

[Mary Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun die-cut pages and gate fold, but the story is hard to follow.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very unique cut outs for the pages but the story was lacking.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A child and animals put on a play before bedtime.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

What if your dream was performed as a play?

[Annese · Rating 2 out of 5]

I LOVE the art and book design. Too bad it had this lackluster story to go with it.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

love her illustrations

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

[Elizabeth S · Rating 1 out of 5]

The cut-out pages were interesting. The story made no sense.

[Shivakukatla · Rating 2 out of 5]

arrangements of papers are good but I am not sure if I like it.

[Elona · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love these illustrations but there's no story, just basically labeling of some aspects of a play. Just didn't find it engaging.

[Victoria B. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best thing about this book was the variation in the pages/page shapes. The actual story itself was just meh.

[Great Books]

Great imagination along with fun die-cut pages!


Reviewer: 10

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bedtime story told in three acts featuring Arlo, and his friends as he prepares for bed and sleep. Although Arlo falls asleep none of his friends are ready for bed, and decide to put on a stage play.

[Kelly]

Absolutely loved this book. I loved how the pages opened like you were pulling back the curtain on the stage. The little play they did was cute as were the animals. Nothing to dislike here.