Night Lunch

by Eric Fan, Dena Seiferling (Illustrator)

A mysterious cook whips up midnight meals for fellow night owls in a lavish lunch cart while a hungry mouse looks on in this atmospheric picture book inspired by the forerunner of food trucks and diners. A delectable picture book inspired by forerunners of food truck, for fans of The Night Gardener.

Noses sniff the air as mouthwatering smells waft down city streets, luring growling bellies to the Night Owl. Inside this elegant, horse-drawn establishment, a feathery cook works the grill, serving up tasty dishes for shift-workers and operagoers alike: a mince pie for Fox, a ham sandwich for Badger and puddings for little Possums. Mouse, a poor street sweeper, watches as the line of customers swells, ever hopeful that someone will drop a morsel of food -- but Owl's cooking is far too delicious for more than a crumb to be found. As the evening's service winds down, weary Owl spots trembling Mouse. Has he found his own night lunch, or will he invite this small sweeper inside for a midnight feast for two?

From the imagination of two acclaimed picture book creators, together for the first time, this dreamlike picture book is a magical ode to Victorian lunch wagons. Evoking the sounds, sights, smells and tastes of the city at night, Night Lunch reveals how empathy and kindness as well as dignity and gratitude can be found -- and savored -- in the most unexpected places.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Food, Fantasy, Fiction, Canada

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2022

About the author

Eric Fan is an artist and writer who lives in Toronto, Canada. Born in Hawaii and raised in Toronto, he attended the Ontario College of Art and Design, where he studied illustration, sculpture, and film. He has a passion for vintage bikes, clockwork contraptions, and impossible dreams. Eric is the cocreator of The Night Gardener, It Fell from the Sky, and Lizzy and the Cloud.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to love this. The illustrations are exceptional. The text fell really flat.

[Janet Bruins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cozy, mysterious little gem. An owl runs a cart in the middle of the city, serving hot food to all the nighttime creatures — foxes, raccoons, bats, and more. The story feels quiet and a bit spooky, but sweet too, like a secret world you stumble into by accident. The art is gorgeous — smoky, glowing, full of shadows and magic. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to curl up and read it by candlelight.

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

Based upon the title and cover of this book, if you were asked to make a guess as to what the topic, setting and message might be (assuming you don't already know), I will bet that 90% or more will get this wrong. Absolutely wrong.

Found it in the picture book category, there was nothing particularly lunchy about the cover art, but that one very serious and earnest owl - which is a plus, as we have one avid fan of owls in our group, and the others are not overly indifferent. I grabbed it from the library digital shelf. I rarely look ahead through books I read to my kiddos, and only a few times have I needed to make stuff up or stop reading entirely due to unexpected surprises.

Once the read starts in, we were surprised completely. Not what we expected, but was charming in its own way, so we read on. Once done we sat there quietly. . .even me. "Huh," said one of the 15-year olds. "Yeah," said the 13-year old. "S'Ok!" pronounced Arthur. Like I said, it's charming. . . .but questions linger.

I will not be spoiling anything here. Hedging here, just in case we bet, you and I.

[Andrea Lorenz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a nice read, though I'm not sure I would use it as a read aloud - the rhythms weren't quite right for me. The pictures are delectable and I did enjoy the overall story (even though Jeff was sure the owl was going to eat the little mouse at the end).

[Dorothy Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are so rich. The sense of night and the night light is wonderful. It looks like a Caldecott book to me. Lucky niece is getting this one for Christmas.

[Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Night Lunch is a dreamlike picture book that opens with a lunch cart rolling through an empty street at night - and soon the quiet street comes to life as animals of all kinds arrive in a soft glow of light to eat what Owl is cooking up! As the sky brightens and the animals scurry away, Owl finds Mouse hoping for a dropped crumb - and offers a feast instead!
My nine-year-old loved the descriptive action words and the magical glow of the illustrations. I especially loved the message of kindness and gratitude.

Thanks to the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program for the opportunity to read and review Night Lunch with my daughter!

For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why did I stop reading children's picture books? They are lovely.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are whimsical and atmospheric. The text isn't memorable or particularly rhythmic, although it is simple enough for very young children.

[Sharon Skinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would subtitle this book: How to make a grown woman cry in 174 words. Beautiful words and evocative imagery. A fabulous book about kindness.

[Stacy Renee (LazyDayLit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children's Picture Books

Beautifully illustrated!

[Cecilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, so, this book was really...odd. Let me get into why, though.

The pictures are absolutely awesome.
The story itself is a very sweet concept.

But, um...

So, looking at the cover, it looks like it's going to be a horror themed picturebook for kids. Which REALLY got my hopes up. There aren't enough well done books in that genre. The owl overhanging the mouse which also looks like his beak from far away... *Chef's kiss*

And because it is drawn and set up like a horror book, there is a lot of suspense in these pages that I don't think is actually supposed to be there now that I've read it. I think it's supposed to be a sweet story. That is not how it is illustrated. It doesn't come off like it's supposed to be suspenseful, either, I think that was an accident because I don't think the illustrator and the author spoke at all to have one cohesive vision. Overall, the pictures are very lovely and create such excellent suspense and the story itself is very sweet, but they don't belong together. They're two different books to me.

[Sue Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover looks quite ominous with that big owl face staring you directly in your eyes. Then you notice that his beak is actually no his beak at all, but a wee mouse holding what appears to be a broom.

Hmmmm. Now that's a tease! Who starts a kids book with a mouse standing in front of an obvious death?! Why, Eric Fan does! It's a great way to see what will happen to the fate of that little mouse!

Of course, the owl is none other than the chef of the night lunch cart. And he serves up treats galore to his night guests that come to his brightly lit and fabulous cart.

It's a fun read with absolutely fabulous pictures drawn by Dena Seiferling. And there's always leftover treat bags to take home to get you through the day.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I like this one for the illustrations more than the text itself. But I use it as a book to talk about nocturnal animals with my storytime kiddos.

Funny thing: kids want bats. And I just don't feel like bats show up in here. Weird

[DaNae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations, boring text. I would have loved a bit more ‘bite’ to this meal.

[Mattia_Bussolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ma che cute 🥹

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night Lunch features a lunch cart wagon that is run by an owl at night. Other nocturnal critters visit for a bite to eat. The illustrations do help tell the story along with the short sentences. We read this story with early elementary. I wouldn't read this at an early childhood storytime.
 
2025 storytime theme: Storytime After Dark - Night Owls

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is gorgeous. Even though Owls freak me out, I loved this book

[Il confine dei libri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Per leggere la recensione in blog cliccare qui:
https://ilconfinedeilibri.blogspot.co...

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous!

[Becky Loader · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the illustrations and the story of the owl helping the mouse out is very sweet.
But.

The owl creeped me out a bit--especially around the mouse!

[Sakura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing art and whimsical words!

[Alexandria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful art and rhyming schemes, not my favorite plot though.

[Regine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eerily atmospheric, as dark-adapted animals step up to the owl’s night lunch cart.

[lily (powpowpup) · Rating 4 out of 5]

la parfaite histoire pour une lecture sans prise de tête avec des animaux nocturnes et de la nourriture a s'en lécher les doigts. une chouette avec un grand coeur qui aide une petite souris dans le besoin avant de repartir avec son food cart avec le soleil qui se lève.

ne faites pas la même erreur que moi. ce n'est pas une bonne idée de le lire avant de se coucher. ça m'a donné faim! ahaha

[Amanda Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

You need to re-read for details!

[Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful poetic language and undeniably gorgeous illustrations. A book that I don't think is right for every kid, but for the right kid, this will be their favorite.

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful brush strokes illustrate the night animals who come to owl’s traveling lunch cart. Whimsical, because the owl is a night predator in real life and he’s serving food from his horse-drawn cart to other predators like badgers, foxes, and raccoons. The illustrations are all dark shades of brown and gray because the story takes place at night, but I think children would definitely enjoy a brighter color variety. Not sure what the imaginative creatures on page 15 are. Maybe a cross between a rodent (like the toy Furbies) with a moth or butterfly’s wings. Nice to see the owl serve the mouse at the end of the night instead of the real world where the owl eats the mouse for lunch.

[Jess]

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was pleasant tly surprised at this book. Thr illustrations are beautiful and the story is simple and nice. It follows Owl making night lunch for various animals and sharing with a mouse, which would be its natural food source. I wish the words would have rhymed or had a more obvious rhythm. The concept of sharing and gratitude is throughout the book.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

AMAZING illustrations with a not-so-easy to understand storyline for young ones.

[John Mullarkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliantly illustrated and atmospheric story about an owl and a nocturnal lunch cart that brings meals to various animals in the city during the middle of the night. After a few readings, the story - sparse text and outstanding artwork, brings to mind late night lunch counters and all-night diners and coffee shops that populate big cities and feed workers who work during the night. An owl being a nocturnal animal, is a natural candidate, but unlike most owls that hunt in the night, this one shows a magical generosity and kindness to serve up almost every kind of desirable fare his customers would want - including a lonely mouse - (usually something found on an OWL'S "menu") who the owl serves and shares a small feast as the night slowly turns to day. As a read aloud, some younger students immediately compared the owl to a chef and a food truck - and a NJ diner (where one can get almost any favorite food 24 hours a day). It takes a little explaining that there is and was a sector of the workforce that work overnight and have regular meals as most of are sleeping. The artwork by Dena Seiferling is truly magical and is perfect for the dreamlike quality of the story. I once spent a week working overnight in the heart of NYC renovating a drug store (work that could not be done during the day due to the heavy daily customer traffic) and was amazed as to how many restaurants, delis, and coffee shops did a bustling overnight business - serving lunch. Just as in the book it was a much-welcomed break to order almost anything (cheeseburger? pancakes?) on the menu at 2 am!