• Age: 2 to 5
• Grade: p to k

Yellow is Ella’s favorite color — she loves the bright, sunny daytime. But every night, as darkness falls, she becomes afraid.

Yellow is Ella’s favorite color — she loves the bright, sunny daytime. But every night, as darkness falls, she becomes afraid. Her mother encourages her to look at the soft glow of the moon and fireflies dancing in the night. Ella listens to the chirping of crickets and the gentle rustling of the wind as she gradually realizes that nighttime can be something to look forward to rather than something to fear.

With sweet, luminous illustrations by Aimée Sicuro, this story will inspire parents and children to welcome the peaceful nature of nighttime into their homes and hearts.

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.3
With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2
Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.3
Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

SANDRA V. FEDER is the author of two acclaimed picture books. Bitter and Sweet, illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker, was a PJ Library selection, and The Moon Inside, illustrated by Aimée Sicuro, has been translated into French, Chinese and Korean. She’s also the author of three early chapter books — Daisy’s Perfect Word, Daisy’s Defining Day and Daisy’s Big Night, illustrated by Susan Mitchell. Sandra lives in Northern California.

Sandra V. Feder's profile page

AIMÉE SICURO is an award-winning illustrator who recently published her first picture book, Bright Sky, Starry City by Uma Krishnaswami, which has been highly acclaimed.

Aimée Sicuro's profile page

A lovely addition to any bedtime repertoire.

Kirkus Reviews

Ella’s favourite colour is yellow. It’s the colour of the sun, the source of lightness and life. When the sun goes down and darkness sets in, she starts to panic, turning on every lamp in the house and gripping her mother’s hand in fear. Yellow totally takes over Ella’s waking hours, from the wallpaper in her house to the daffodils on the kitchen table to the clothes she wears, all rendered in a thick, luminous gouache. One night, Ella’s mother introduces her to a new type of yellow: the soft, butter-yellow moon of the horizon brings with it glowing fireflies. Against the dark backdrop of the night sky, these yellows get a chance to act as the spotlight. Ella doesn’t learn to confront her fears; she learns to approach them with a new perspective. Perhaps that’s all six of one and half-dozen of the other, but by the end of the book, she decides to turn off the lamp and fall asleep in the moonlight, looking completely at peace.

The Globe and Mail

There’s no shortage of picture books on this topic, but Feder and Sicuro handle this with such care and thoughtfulness; it really stands out.

Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Feder's words are gentle and reassuring and will satisfy children who also fear the dark … A lovely addition to bedtime book collections.

Booklist

A simply luminous and reassuring selection to share before bedtime, again and again.

School Library Journal