The Midnight Fair

Product Information

Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - With the help of a pair of crafty racoons, the funfair is suddenly brought to life. As if casting off their ‘wildness’ for one magical evening, the animals, now anthropomorphised, do everything the humans did earlier: buy popcorn, doughnuts, sweets and take part in the games and attractions, chase sugar-addled cubs and win huge cuddly versions of themselves. A young wolf cub, who looks slightly befuddled when it wins a goldfish, is particularly humorous, and a bearer of a poignant message for later.

The Midnight Fair | Centre for Literacy in Primary Education

Of course goldfish shouldn’t be given as prizes at fairs, and yes, releasing them into the wild isn’t always the best thing to do. But let’s not take this book too literally. The author believes that goldfish should not be given as prizes as the fox releases it. For me, the core message of kindness and freedom far overrides anything else. Let’s give our young people the credit they deserve, they’re more than able to take onboard these messages without taking them too literally. Porcupines as sweet carriers, animals aboard animals on the merry-go-round, Deer and Kangaroo preparing for the ghost ride, Fox at the palm reading, Bear serving hot dogs; it seems as though the possibilities are endless. Furthermore, it seems that the animals have been waiting for this moment, or are familiar and practised in the attractions available.As with many wordless picture books, The Midnight Fairunfolds over a sequence of panels that recall comics/graphic novels. The fact that it is told without words is a great leveller: Pre-readers may be unable to handle the written word, but that doesn’t disqualify them as storytellers. And there’s plenty of detail in the visually stimulating Midnight Fairto spark the imagination. (The wordless nature of the story can also be considered an extension of the ‘silent spreads’ you sometimes find in picture books (for example, Where the Wild Things Are).) The Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in children’s writing and illustration respectively and aim to inspire and empower a new generation of readers.

The Midnight Fair – Wordless Books

This is a beautifully illustrated wordless picture book about what happens at the fair during the night when it’s closed. Not surprisingly, the animals of the forest come out and take full advantage of all the fun the fair has to offer—they ride the carousel, they play the games, they eat the food. The mixed media illustrations feature gorgeous and brightly colored watercolors that really convey the magic of the fair at night. Hand this book to fans of wordless books who love a little imagination and fun in their stories. Recommended for readers 3 and up. The Costa-winning children’s book The Crossing by Manjeet Mann and Cane Warriors by former Guardian children’s fiction prize winner Alex Wheatle are among those in contention for this year’s Yoto Carnegie medal for the best children’s novel. Angela Harding is a fine artist specialising in nature and wildlife screen-prints as well as lino and vinyl cuts. Her beautiful prints appear in a huge range of galleries and have also been featured in Gardens Illustrated, BBC Countryfile and Country Living. The winner of the Shadowers’ Choice Award for the Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal is The Midnight Fair (Walker Books ) illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio ­– an illustrator, storyboard artist and concept designer from Rome, Italy – and written by Gideon Sterer. It is a heart-warming, immersive wordless picture book that uncovers the secret life of animals who prowl a fairground at night, featuring sumptuous use of colour and contrast, which invoke all the senses.Balen’s October, October has done the double and scooped this year’s Shadowers’ Choice Award for the Yoto Carnegie Medal, after tens of thousands of young people across the UK and internationally read and debated the shortlisted books before voting for their favourites. The winner of the Shadowers’ Choice Award for the Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal is The Midnight Fair (Walker Books ) illustrated by Mariachiara Di Giorgio – an illustrator, storyboard artist and concept designer from Rome, Italy – and written by Gideon Sterer. It is a heart-warming, immersive wordless picture book that uncovers the secret life of animals who prowl a fairground at night, featuring sumptuous use of colour and contrast, which invoke all the senses. Balen’s October, October also scooped this year’s Shadowers’ Choice Award for the Yoto Carnegie Medal, after tens of thousands of young people across the UK and internationally read and debated the shortlisted books before voting for their favourites. Ask 100 children what might happen if you put wild animals in charge of a country fair in the middle of the night—there’s a good chance that variations of their answers appear in this gloriously imaginative wordless picture book by Gideon Sterer (From Ed’s to Ned’s) and Mariachiara Di Giorgio (Professional Crocodile). . .Lush watercolor, gouache and colored pencil artwork by Di Giorgio is spectacular not just in its liveliness and beauty but in its remarkable depth and perspective. . .Surprise after surprise emerges for the keen-eyed reader, and not a detail is neglected, including what happens to the goldfish prize at the end of the night. The Midnight Fair—like a ride on a Ferris wheel—will likely elicit entreaties of "Again, again!" I’m unsure how the collaboration between the writer and illustrator works on a wordless picture book. But that’s what The Midnight Fairis – a story told entirely through fantastic illustrations by Mariachiara Di Giorgino.

The Midnight Fair by Gideon Sterer: 9781536211153

Captivating spreads by Di Giorgio ( Professional Crocodile) tell a wordless story about a night of magic for a forest’s animal denizens. . .Watching a whole forest full of creatures encounter the fair delivers a sheaf of unexpected delights—especially when they take pleasure in all the same things their human counterparts do. There is always something liberating and exciting about wordless picturebooks. The gap between what is represented and the meaning-making process opens up just enough for readers to invite a richness of interpretation. Transforming Sterer’s narrative into a wordless tale, Di Giorgio, creator of the highly acclaimed Professional Crocodile, presents us with the story of a troupe of animals and their nighttime excursions into an empty fairground. The Carnegie medal runs alongside the Yoto Kate Greenaway medal for the best children’s illustrator. This year two former winners, Sydney Smith and Emily Gavett, are in with a chance of a third medal. Also on the shortlist are Mariachiara Di Giorgio and Peter Van den Ende, who have both illustrated wordless books about nature and animals. And Danica Novgorodoff has been selected for the graphic novel version of Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds, who won the Carnegie medal last year for Look Both Ways. Yoto’s platform features both award-winning original content and audio that has been licensed or co-created with partners. These partners include PRH, Macmillan, Sony, Disney, LEGO, Roald Dahl Story Company, HarperCollins, Hachette, Bonnier and Scholastic. CILIP is the leading voice for the information, knowledge management and library profession. Our goal is to put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society.Now available worldwide, Yoto have won awards and accolades from critics, parents and children alike. TIME Magazine even named it one of the Best Inventions of 2020 and the Mini won a prestigious D&AD Pencil in 2022. Armistice Day: A Collection of Remembrance - Spark Interest and Educate Children about Historical Moments While some may criticize the book for its use of animals eating human junk food and humans taking over aka deforestation, the books' focus is on the FUN of the fair, the imagery and sensory thoughts that will fill the readers' head without so much as a word spoken, and how they co-habit (in a sense). It also opens up endless questions and conversations including what flavor of ice cream would a bear eat? Are nocturnal animals afraid of haunted houses? what is your favorite theme park ride? What animal would you ride on the carousel?' Di Giorgio’s cinematic techniques are evident in her lively watercolour artwork and help to give the book a powerful sense of spectacle. Spread from The Midnight Fair by Gideon Sterer and Mariachiara Di Giorgio I enjoyed seeing the animals having a ride on the teacups, swings, and pirate ship amongst other amusement rides, plus munching on the confectionary and hot dogs. They certainly look like they are enjoying themselves.