A review by jessalynn_librarian
Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night by Joyce Sidman

5.0

Each look reveals new, fabulous details: the dusk and dawn double-page spreads that begin and end the book. The eft, a newt-like creature, that stars in his own poem ("Come all you young efts,/ so brave and so bold") but creeps onto each page, even the verso. The fact that the illustrations are made by the process of relief printing - "there are definitely faster methods of making a picture, but few more enjoyable in a backwards sort of way." The richness of the poems - a compelling combination of ordinary and grand, from the "perched missile" of the great horned owl to "the tiny hiccup/ of my heart" described by the fleeing mouse. The way information - both necessary and fun - has been condensed for the unobstrusive sidebars, tucked next to the illustrations in a smaller print than the poems.

May 2017 - I wasn't sure if we'd make it through the whole thing at bedtime, but we did, and Ben was engrossed with all the noctural creatures and kept interrupting the poems to ask questions, which made the sidebar info handy. He wanted to know exactly what each animal ate.