I LOVE THE NIGHT

Newcomer Hosta (who is also the president of Brown Dog) introduces creatures that start their day just as a child's day is ending. Bold, detailed illustrations of nocturnal scenes mix collage, oil pastel and colored pencil with a touch of computer illustration. "Out of a cozy den in a hollowed out tree, a wily black-masked raccoon comes out to wash her hands in the moonlit forest stream," she writes. This soulful animal looks directly at readers, its fur intriguingly rendered in speckled and streaked cut paper, its paws dipping into cut-paper swirls of tone-on-tone blue water. But Hosta undermines these powerful visuals with an insistent pattern of alliterative commentary from each animal: " 'I love the night,' giggles the playful ring-tailed raccoon. 'It is so enjoyably enjoyable for paddling and for playing!' " The pattern wears thin after a few such "splendidly splendid" and "fabulously fabulous" exclamations. However, the author does tuck in factual tidbits about the creatures' habitats, activities and food. While the book takes place in summer, the last illustration, oddly, depicts a snowy town. The concluding text is also weak, as the moon sings a lullaby to all of earth's creatures and, "whirling gently through the Universe, she hums happily ever after. Sweet dreams..." Ages 4-8. (June)