Everyone's Awake

In a somewhat calm beginning, the lighthouse home sits upon the water with its spotlight piercing the night—a perfect foreshadowing of the all-nighters inside lighting up the night with their frantic pace. The first peek inside the home is the midnight-blue room with a child snuggled in bed, the bright glow from outside the door creeping in along with the sounds of its wakeful residents. Throughout the house are different scenes—“Grandma’s at her needlework. Dad is baking bread.” Things quickly escalate in pitch and grandeur of exploits, creating a random conglomeration: a sister is trapezing, and Grandma’s playing “whist with long-dead Grandpa Paul.” After a nighttime packed with unusual things, morning’s light shines through the window, illuminating the now quiet, sleepy crew. Impressive vocabulary and lyrical cadence are dappled with an array of arbitrary references (e.g. a coup d’etat, reciting Baudelair and Condorman), making this read most enjoyable for comprehending adults, though unknown vocabulary also simply adds to the explosion of activity portrayed in the house for younger minds. The illustration style matches the feverish pitch of the text, set in nighttime colors (that feel inappropriately wakeful) and blasts of yellow light. This eclectic, quirky, and random book made by award-winning creatives breaks up the traditional bedtime genre with its lack of sleep and unusual content.