The Way Home in the Night

This book has thrown me a little and I am in two frames of mind about how much I like it.  I am interested in what others think too,so if you have read it let me know what you think.

The Way Home in the Night Written & Illustrated by Akiko Miyakoshi
Published by Kids Can Press
Date: 4 April 2017

I read through this book several times because it intrigued me, and I was struggling to form an opinion on the book.  I came back to it a week later and saw a whole new perspective on it, I don’t dislike this book but now I have more of a firm grip on my thoughts about the book.

First and foremost, the illustrations were the story to me.  The text didn’t matter as much to me as there was so much to see in the textured looking drawings.  Lights in doorways, bikes leaning on buildings, baby rabbit, the moon and balloons all adorned the pages at some point in the book.  They tell me a story of parties, a street at night, bed time and people waiting for someone to come home.  I could go on for some time about how much I enjoyed the illustrations and the impact they had on me, but overall, they were just delightful.

I felt the words got lost on some of the pages, particularly in the darker parts of the illustrations.  I found the little rabbit endearing as he was smelling, seeing, and hearing things as he was being carried home in his sleepy state.  Once the bunny got home that is where the story lost me and seemed to change pace.

I really did enjoy this book despite my aversion to some of the text. I recommend this book to storytellers, parents and children to read because I believe this storywill mean something different to everyone that reads it. Adults will particularly appreciate the depths of the illustrations. This book will draw different people in for different reasons which is bound to be deeper in context than it initially seems.