Luminous: Living Things That Light Up the Night

So, the book is great! It's a children's book, but it caught my attention for being printed on black paper. Julia has a very pretty art style and I bought the book as inspiration for my own art.(Note: I actually saw the book at my local bookstore, first, but turned it down because I'm not a kid and don't have kids of my own. Felt a bit wierd to buy a picture book! But the beautiful illustrations stuck with me all these months! So, I finally caved and nabbed this copy on Amazon)Was a little disappointed that my book came with damage, though.The cover(? idk how to call this?) has been dented/caved in on the bottom edge.I don't think the seller is at fault here, but that it was perhaps damaged during postage.It's a really minor ding, though, in the grand scheme of things 🤷Book still reads fine and none of the artwork was ruined, so I don't really think it's the end of the world. Just a slight disappointment!If you're an adult and you like neat art, I'd recommend this book. It's pretty enough that it honestly doesn't feel like a kid's book!If you have kids, this should be a definite attention grabber. It teaches about some amazing animals, too!Really don't see why NOT to recommend this.

What a beautiful book. Kuo introduces young readers to the amazing kind of light called bioluminescence, the light created within the bodies of living creatures. Combining an introductory text in larger font with additional explanatory text in smaller font the book works well with both older and younger elementary students. A variety of creatures produce bioluminescence including foxfire (fungi), glowworms, deep-sea anglerfish, and the crown jellyfish. It's fascinating to consider all the remarkable ways that creatures have found to use the light their bodies create; distraction, hunting, and camouflage. The digitally created illustrations follow a mother and daughter as they explore the natural world. The dark background allows the light emanating from the creatures to stand out wonderfully. A brief reminder of the dangers of light pollution closes out this great introduction to light by reminding readers to take the time to enjoy the natural world. While I would have appreciated some back matter, the book still makes a great read. Highly recommended.

My daughter loves this book, likes to shout out “when it’s dark out!” And “really look!!!!” Definitely a hit and a classic in our household!!!

Beautiful book with interesting scientific facts about luminous creatures and plants. Very interesting, but not for toddlers.