Hyewon Yum,
Last Night
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008.

Ages 4-8

In Last Night, Hyewon Yum’s American debut which won the Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration, a little girl is sent to her room without dinner, after looking rather displeased with the vegetables on her plate. A very lovely addition to the growing number of wordless books for children, this too-well-known childhood experience is presented through linoleum block print illustrations whose rustic feel adds a lot of charm to the simple tale.

Alone in her room, the little girl climbs in bed and hugs her little black stuffed bear for comfort. Soon, girl and a bigger-than-life bear embark, hand in hand, on an adventure in the wilderness. They play with the other animals in the forest (the hide-and-seek scene is particularly whimsical); the girl watches as bear eats HIS dinner of freshly caught fish; and she and her animal friends all gather around a bonfire. What she might be thinking and feeling throughout her journey is left for the reader to interpret.

After a night under the stars, the little girl wakes up in her own bed—teddy back to its stuffed animal incarnation. Morning brings with it a rumbly tummy––most likely—and the love and comfort of mom’s good morning hug.

Readers do not need to be particularly keen-eyed to follow and enjoy the quiet beauty of Last Night. “Reading” it will gently draw out little ones’ imaginations and lull them in to the land of dreams.

Aline Pereira
April 2009