Night Song -- Mk Smith Despres, Hardcover

A sad sack frog, who bemoans his inability to sing like a bird, discovers the vital role he's meant to play in his woodland home in this debut picture book from Mk Smith Despres, gorgeously illustrated by award-winning artist Hyewon Yum.

Every morning as the sun rises, Bernardo the frog loves greeting the day by listening to the beautiful birdsong that fills the woods with joy. Inspired, Bernardo attempts to sing, too... but his croaking voice doesn't quite have the same effect. No matter what he does, Bernardo feels graceless and like he just doesn't add up. Dejected and down in the dumps, Bernardo sees no place for himself, until a woodland neighbor praises the hushed sounds that dusk brings, thus awakening Bernardo to his place in the woods' great symphony.

Author: Mk Smith Despres
Publisher: Enchanted Lion Books
Published: 01/09/2024
Pages: 52
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 10.60h x 8.40w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781592703944
Audience: Ages 4-8

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/23/2023
Kirkus Reviews 11/15/2023
Foreword 12/27/2023
Booklist 01/01/2024 pg. 77

About the Author

Mk Smith Despres writes, teaches, and reads lots of books with their family in western Massachusetts, where the stars are particularly bright and the night song is especially beautiful.

Hyewon Yum is an author and illustrator of many picture books, including The Happiness of a Dog with a Ball in Its Mouth, which was named a Best Children's Book of 2021 by the New York Times; The Twins' Blanket, a Junior Library Guild selection; and Mom, It's My First Day of Kindergarten!, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator award and was selected as a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year. She lives in Brooklyn, NY with her family.