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Forest Bright, Forest Night

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Someone is always awake in the forest--and someone else is always asleep! Some animals are alert in daytime and sleep at night. Others are alert at night, and are sleepyheads during the day. Plus be sure to count the animals.You FLIP THIS BOOK from day to night and back--a nice hands-on way to show the same view day and night. this book is a very pleasant way to combine science and literature.
Please The board book edition is 28 pages. Unlike the paperback and hardback editions, it is not a flip-book, nor does it contain additional centerfold information about the animals.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2005

79 people want to read

About the author

Jennifer Ward

114 books42 followers
Jennifer Ward is the author of more than 25 award-winning nonfiction and fiction books for children and adults.

Her books have been translated into many languages and featured in Martha Stewart's Living, Ranger Rick, on NPR, television's Animal Planet network, and on many popular blogs such as Soule Mama.

Most of Jennifer's books are inspired by science and nature and artfully combine elements of STEM & literacy.

She writes full-time from her home in Illinois where she lives with her husband and two dogs and is easily distracted by everything outside of her windows - particularly if it has feathers!

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5 stars
54 (36%)
4 stars
53 (36%)
3 stars
36 (24%)
2 stars
3 (2%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
Profile Image for Kathryn.
4,796 reviews
December 29, 2020
The illustrations are very nice. Fun concept that you "flip" the book to go from day to night and see how animals also switch places in the forest depending on the time of day they are active.
Profile Image for raccoon reader.
1,818 reviews4 followers
July 22, 2020
I loved this book but for whatever weird reason, my son (6) did not! I could barely talk him into letting me read it to him. It is really cool and I loved how it showed the animals crossing paths or trading sleeping areas as their daytime behaviors turned into nighttime behaviors. I would recommend it even if he wouldn't ;)
19 reviews1 follower
April 25, 2021
Title: Forest Bright, Forest Night

Author: Jennifer Ward

Illustrator: Jamichael Henterly

Genre: Fiction

Theme(s): Nocturnal animals & animals who live in the forest

Opening line/Sentence: “Sunlight, forest bright. After sleeping through the night.”

Brief Book Summary: There are a variety of animals represented in this book and some examples are; snakes, birds, bears, frogs, chipmunks, mice, beavers, etc. In the first half of the book it talks about all the animals that are awake during the day along with having numbers to represent each animal and you count to ten. In the second part of the book the animals represented are awake at night or nocturnal and they count down from ten.

Response to two professional reviews: The reviews that I read talked about how there are two books combined into one by talking about both animals during the day and at night. This book teachers children counting skills, but also introduces important vocabulary they will need to know when they are older. One of the reviews mentioned the illustrations in the book being very detailed and representing animals' natural habitats.

Tell Me Framework:

Like(s): I liked that this book not only represented where these animals lived, but also the fact that simple math was incorporated.

Dislike(s): In some of the illustrations it was hard to count how many animals were on the page because they were cut off by other pictures.

Pattern(s): On each page of the book there are rhyming words in each line of text and it describes the actions of the animals.

Puzzle(s): Why did the author decide to base the book in the woods over another habitat?

Consideration of Instruction Application: After reading this book to preschoolers, teachers can have children create a picture of a nocturnal animal and a non-nocturnal animal to show the difference between them. This will reinforce the ideas that were mentioned in the book and the children are given the freedom to choose their animals and how to represent them. An add on to this activity could be the children writing a sentence or a few words about the different animals they chose and why they chose them.
Profile Image for D. Nelle.
32 reviews1 follower
October 20, 2025
There is so much going on in this book that stretch beyond nocturnal and daytime animals! Look for numbers hidden in the illustrations, correlations with the animals and numbers, and great discussions around nature.

Recommended for K-2 grades, but all ages will enjoy this book. This is a great book to enrich environmental science lessons on nocturnal animals, animal habitats and homes, and forest biomes.
64 reviews1 follower
April 7, 2024
Reads as two different but related books. The forest during the daytime is the subject of the first half. An informational page is the middle. The forest at night is the rear half, beginning from the last page after flipping the book over. It's beautiful, and memorable enough that I have wanted to find this book again for more than 13 years.
Profile Image for Storm.
234 reviews35 followers
May 11, 2018
This is a really cute book about the animals that live in the forest. It covers both day time animals and nocturnal animals.

I would read this to kinder and possibly first, but it would be too short for the older grades.
101 reviews1 follower
November 10, 2018
What a great way to introduce kids to the life of the forest! I would utilize this during a "fun" day in school, giving kids the chance to explore different animals and different environments than they might sometimes be used to.
629 reviews
April 11, 2022
A beautifully illustrated book in two parts....one part is what the creatures of the forest do during the day and the second half is what the forest creatures doing at night. Beautiful illustrations and great information for young readers.

439 reviews
October 4, 2023
A fun flip book on diurnal and nocturnal animals. Those who pay attention to detail will notice how you can see both animals in the different times of day depending on their activity. Great book for a Fall related story time or talking about opposites.
Profile Image for Jessica.
Author 11 books15 followers
June 16, 2021
Very creative approach. I did notice at least one animal (the deer) that technically is most active at dawn and dusk, making it neither diurnal nor nocturnal.
Profile Image for Michelle.
3,793 reviews32 followers
July 26, 2021
Beautiful, realistic art! And helps teach kids some animals are diurnal and some animals are nocturnal.
Profile Image for Shannon Bradbury.
330 reviews28 followers
November 6, 2023
A really interesting read learning about different kinds of animals and their habitats.
Profile Image for Eve.
42 reviews11 followers
October 15, 2015
EDUCATOR TIP:

This book is an excellent example of a title that can be used across the curriculum giving you quite a bang for your buck. In addition this book is two books in one. One half shows the animals that are awake during the day in the forest and then you flip the book and the other half shows the animals that are awake at night. This device itself can be used as a topic of discussion and other books that follow this format can be introduced.

EDUCATOR TIP:
The detailed and life-like illustrations depict not only the animals that are awake, but include the slumbering animals too. Seasons can be introduced by talking about animals that hibernate. And the book contains a math component with numbers hidden in many of the illustrations and as well as the opportunity for children to count the animals on each page. Forest Bright, Forest Night makes a great introduction for animals, nocturnal animals, the forest as a habitat, and more.

EDUCATOR TIP:
Each page contains minimal little text, but packs quite a punch. The language is rich – including fun alliterations such as “chatter and chase”, “scurry and scramble”, and “slither and slide”. The verbs are very descriptive such as “Nibble and crunch” and “Parade and plod”. This book would be useful in teaching verbs and for a writing lesson. In the middle of the book where both flip books end, all of the text is presented on one page – a good review and reinforcement.

Forest Bright, Forest Night is published by a small children’s publisher from northern California called Dawn Publications. They focus on connecting children with nature.

On the Dawn Publications’ website (www.dawnpub.com) you will find many resources such as study guides and activities to complement their books. Their blog, called Common Core Making the Connection, is authored by Carol Malnor “… an elementary, middle school, and high school teacher, and founder of two alternative high schools”. Every week Carol offers a chance to win a free set of Dawn Publications nature books during that month! Carol also explains how to use Dawn Publications and their unique blend of fact and story (called creative non-fiction) to support the Common Core and science.

Find teaching tools and tips for Dawn Publications books at http://www.dawnpub.com/teaching-tools...

Find activities related to Dawn publication books at http://www.dawnpub.com/activities/
Dawn Publications mission statement:
“Dawn Publications is dedicated to inspiring in children a deeper understanding and appreciation for all life on Earth. We aim to help parents and teachers encourage children to bond with the Earth in a relationship of love, respect, and intelligent cooperation, through the books we publish and the educational materials we offer online.”
“We pursue quality rather than quantity, limiting ourselves to only a half dozen or so titles a year. When selecting our new project we look for inspirational content and quality art as well as solid information. We aim to reach the hearts as well as minds of children. As nature publishers our material is essentially non-fiction, but usually told with such an engaging style and illustrated with such magical art that most of our books are probably best described by that budding genre, “creative non-fiction.” Each of our products is a unique window into the web of life that, grounded in nature, weaves us all together.”
“We aspire to awaken children to the discovery that they are part of something magnificent.”
*Links to purchase books may result in the Barefoot Librarian receiving a
commission (at no additional cost to you). I appreciate your support of my business.
Profile Image for Krista the Krazy Kataloguer.
3,873 reviews331 followers
April 18, 2017
In the Forest Bright portion of this picture book, all kinds of animals are shown doing what they do during the daytime. But when the sun sets... turn the book upside down, and read about what the same animals do at night! In the middle is two pages of additional text describing animal activities. The pictures are bright and the text is simple, making this a great pre-K and kindergarten readaloud. Love it!
Profile Image for NS - Cami Houston.
79 reviews1 follower
November 12, 2009
Appropriate 3-5, happy bright paintings that highlight life in the forest by day. You flip the book upside down and read about what happens in the forest by night. Realistic illustrations that capture sunlight and moon light reflecting the life of animals that sleep by day and hunt by night, and those that hunt by day and sleep by night.
10.8k reviews30 followers
December 3, 2016
This is two books in one read it one way to read short rhymes about what animals in the daytime in a forest do and turn the book the other way to read about animals at night in a forest. Short simple sentences make this fun but the pages in the middles are longer. Read those for one on one skip for storytime. Toddler and up.
Profile Image for Teri.
2,489 reviews25 followers
November 5, 2010
Fun "flip" book about daytime verses nocturnal animals. Love the illustrations and the concept, but I question just how "nocturnal" some of these animals are. I've seen beavers in the daytime with my very own eyes and certainly wouldn't call them nocturnal. :)
Profile Image for Missy.
216 reviews13 followers
December 8, 2010
I like the concept of nocturnal animals sharing a space with day-timers. My preschooler loves it too, which is why I'm giving it four stars instead of three. I felt like the rhymes didn't roll off my tongue easily.
Profile Image for Ruth.
1,438 reviews47 followers
May 16, 2012
Beautifully illustrated counting book about the animals that live in the forest, with each panel showing a pair of animals - one that is active during the day, and another active during the night. Lots of hidden things to look for in the pictures makes this a fun book for younger children.
89 reviews
August 5, 2019
Jennifer Ward's books have excellent illustrations. This book depicts just about every typical forest animal I can think of from crickets to deer. Half of the book shows animals in the day and the other half shows animals at night.
Profile Image for Matthew.
2,890 reviews52 followers
June 13, 2012
Interesting text about the exchange between diurnal and nocturnal creatures. Simple, but the concept is interesting and it's good for unusual verb choice. Nicely done.
Profile Image for Christine Turner.
3,560 reviews51 followers
September 30, 2018
Nocturnal Animals Storytime

This is a wonderful non-fiction book that works beautifully in storytime. Someone is always awake in the forest! Take a peek into the forest in the daytime, when some animal families play and others are asleep. Then flip the book to see the same forest at nighttime, when the ones that were playing are now asleep, and the families that were asleep are very busy.

Note: ct
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews

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