A robin cheerfully greets the day at dawn.
A horse nibbles grass under the heat of the midday sun.
A rabbit stands still, disappearing into the grass at dusk.
As evening falls, a frog tells the world that he's the king of the pond.
During one summer day, these and other creatures tell their tales, celebrating their ordinary -- but extraordinary -- lives in verse.

This collection of poetry captures the different behaviors of a variety of animals and insects. I really like how it talks about the animals at different times of the day, horse in early morning, rabbits at dusk. Beautiful illustrations accompany each poem. I would love this collection for my classroom, because it introduces children to many animals even ones they may not be familiar with, and describes some of their behaviors. ( )

Summary:
Fireflies at Midnight by Marilyn Singer is a poetry book about various animals and insects and what they do at different times of the day. The animals resemble the South such as the crayfish, long tall grass and swamps. The poems are about a Robin, an Otter, a Crayfish, a Horse, Ants, Butterflies, a Red Eft, a Rabbit, a Bat, a Frog and a firefly etc. Each poem is written at a specific time of day from dawn to midnight and dawn again. This book is about taking the time to notice all the animals and insects that are all around us.

Personal reaction:
I am a fan of fireflies and therefore I chose this book. I enjoyed reading it; each page had a different story about a different animal. The name of each animal is written on top of the page in a girly font. The illustrations are drawn in a very realistic way, almost photographic. There is a lot of attention to detail, which is in keeping with the purpose of the book, to celebrate all creatures and nature around us and pay attention to them. Each double-paged spread has a unique poem on it, left-hand side has the written poem and the right-hand side has a picture describing the poem. The rhyming schemes in each of the 14 poems vary.

Classroom extensions:
1. Go out to the playground and try to spot different animals and insects and observe them.
2. Write their own rhyming poems about nature and animals.
3. Visit a zoo that has both animals and insects to observe. ( )

"Fireflies at Midnight" is a collection of poems that follow animals and insects throughout a day. Starting and ending at dawn, readers see life during all the times of the day- morning, afternoon, and night. Readers will be amazed by all the wonderful creatures they miss as they sleep through the night. This book is truly a celebration of life and nature. ( )

Fireflies at Midnight includes every animal that one might possibly see in the South. Readers can know, just from one look, that the poems are set in the South by the swamps, tall grasses, trees, and "crayfish." Singer includes animals and insects like: a robin, an otter eating a crawfish, a crawfish, ants, frogs, and much more. The poems progress from animals one would see at dawn, early morning, noon, early afternoon, mid afternoon, late afternoon, dusk, dark, evening, midnight, nighttime, to dawn once again. The time span of the series of poems is set in a one day period. A girly script font introduces each animal on the top of each page, and realistic and almost photographic illustrations help set the scene of each poem. One image shows a man's foot near a crawfish, and the image looks so real, that you think you can reach into the book and pull the man's toe hair. A fun book for all ages. ( )