Picture Book Review: Black and Bittern was the Night

Author: Robert Heidbreder

Illustrator: John Martz

Age Range: 4 - 8 years

Hardcover: 32 pages

Publisher: Kids Can Press (August 1, 2013)

Language: English

Series: None

Genre: Picture book

Source: Pubisher via NetGalley

My Rating: 2 of 5 stars

About the Book:

Halloween has arrived, but so have spooky skul-a-mug-mugs who frighten the grown-ups into calling off trick-or-treating. It's up to the kids to take back the night! Told in nonsense verse, this scare-fest will have you yak-yawling with fun!

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About the Author:

Robert Heidbreder is an award-winning children's poet and author. His many books include I Wished for a Unicorn, Eenie Meenie Manitoba and Drumheller Dinosaur Dance. Robert spent thirty years as a primary school teacher and, in 2002, won the Prime Minister's Award for Teaching Excellence. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

About the Illustrator:

John Martz is a cartoonist and illustrator in Toronto, Canada. He is the creator of the wordless online comic strip Machine Gum, and the illustrator of several picture books. He has done work for The Globe & Mail, MAD Magazine, Cartoon Network, Lucky Peach, JibJab, Hallmark Cards, and both chickaDEE and Chirp Magazine. He was a founding editor of the illustration blog Drawn.ca. He has been nominated twice for the Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning. His picture book Dear Flyary was nominated by the National Cartoonists Society for Best Book Illustration in 2013. 

My Thoughts:

I'm not sure what to think about this book. On the one hand, I loved that it was written in nonsense verse and yet was still able to convey the story. On the other hand, the story itself was kind of weird and I'm not sure I liked it.  While the jibberish was fun, some parts were really difficult to read out loud. But that would probably get easier each time it's read. I read it a few times to my kids and found that even though it did get easier, there were still some places that caused me to stumble.

The illustrations were...interesting. I love the cover, and that is what initially attracted me to the book. The first time I read this, I didn't like the illustrations at all. They kind of grew on me the more we read it, but I still can't say that I loved them.