Summer Memories Made with Ochiltree's "It's a Firefly Night"

A daddy takes his adorable little girl out in the evening hours when the moon and stars are in the sky to catch fireflies.  The little girl is barefoot and in her pajamas.  She counts the fireflies she catches, and they light up her jar and glow in the night.  She loves looking at the fireflies but knows she cannot keep them.  She takes one firefly out of her jar, and she tells it good-bye as she lets it fly away.  The little girl empties her jar and sees many sparkling and shining fireflies all over her backyard like tiny stars.  She and her daddy return to their home while she hopes for another firefly night tomorrow.

This book is fun to read while looking at all that is going on in the artwork.  The story line is enjoyable and simple enough for young readers, but the artwork lends to much more discussion.  There are skunks, owls, trees, the moon, stars, birds and bird houses, her dog, lady bugs, larva, mushrooms, flowers, and of course personable fireflies to encourage more dialogue.

I read this book to my 3-year-old neighbors.  In fact, the little girl woke up excitedly from her nap just to read with me.  Like the little girl in the story, they often run around barefoot and spend many hours outside playing with their dad.  While reading the book, they loved counting the fireflies, looking at all the drawings, naming everything they saw, and making the sounds of the owl!  I love that the book has interesting firefly facts, ideas, and questions for the reader at the end.  We are even going to make our own glittering fireflies!  Catching fireflies brought back many happy summer memories for me.