This is the most adorable, wonderful children’s story I have come across in 2010 yet! I cannot praise Little Night by Yuri Morales enough. I won’t even proclaim to know anything about Mexican mythology or culture other than minimal aspects, but I do know a magical story when I see one. This may simply be the perfect children’s book.

First off, the basic story is exceedingly simple and utterly beautiful. Mother Sky is getting her little girl, Little Night, ready for her nightly ritual. It’s the exact same ritual that millions of families likely go through every single night with their own children, including a calming bath, getting dressed, having a snack, hair-combing, and the like. And like many children, Little Night is delightfully mischievous, dashing around and delaying the routine by hiding from Mother Sky prior to each individual activity.

Every scene depicts a mother’s love for her child and a child’s joy in spending such a whimsical evening with her mother. Each expression is palpable, real; you can see your own reflected in the mother’s face, your reality tangibly there in the dark, sweeping purples, pomegranates and blues of the book. It could be describing any day in your own home.

But it’s a little more than that—it’s the actual evening of the Sky and the Night, and their adventures carry them much father than the bathroom or the bedroom! Mother Sky hunts for Little Night in their game of hide and seek within blueberry fields, bat caves, and barns across the world; in fact, during the actual routine itself—the bath, the dressing, the eating—the world below is depicted as a tiny, lovely village seen from an eagle-eye view. It’s obvious that Mother and Little Night are looking down from the clouds above.

And speaking of the clouds above, the language of the book is nothing short of lyrical poetry. If a mother’s heartfelt, personal lullaby was captured in a picture book to soothe her child, this would be it. Word combinations like “She searches in the stripes of bees” and “Creamy mustache, lips lick, stars dripping from the Milky Way to drink,” make you wonder if you’re reading a book of poetry or a children’s picture book; of course, the answer is both.

This gorgeous book would make a fantastic addition to any children’s bookshelf—particularly in the collection of dreamers, schemers, and little girls who want to play with the moon.