All Through the Night is a cheerful and entertaining picture book for young children about “people who work while we sleep”. We find out about cleaners and paramedics, journalists and bakers, and all kinds of folk who make our lives possible. It is a friendly and useful explanation about busy life carrying on even while we sleep.
The narrator’s mum goes out every evening to work, driving her big orange bus, and helping people get about. She is the one who helps everyone get to work and get home again. There is also a shout out for mums and dads of newborn babies who have to stay up before their babies have learned to sleep at night. The police are called to a noisy street but it is only a fox family rampaging through the bins.
All Through the Night is a treat for repeated re-reading. Children will love to spot the bus on every page; the delivery driver from the previous page dropping flour and sugar to the baker; the fox cubs who’ve been at the bins disappearing behind a bush while the railway repair worker use their digger.
For children whose caregivers work nights, I think this will be an affirming thing – to see their person’s work in a story book.
I love that the author and illustrator in their book dedications both thank people who work at night. This fits with the very personal and sincere feel of the book, which has the same joy as the classic Richard Scarry book What do People Do All Day? but it is much more realistic!
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