Millie Fleur Saves The Night
Christy Mandin
Scholastic

Those living in Garden Glen fear the dark and come nightfall, everybody switches on their lights and keeps them on until daybreak. Everybody that is except Millie Fleur La Fae; she loves the dark and since moving to the locality has missed all the nocturnal creatures that stay away from all the lights. To try and bring them closer, she plants a moon garden. Her mum removes the bulb from the streetlamp outside their home and this displeases the local committee whose members claim that’s dangerous and scary. Millie assures them that dark isn’t scary, “You just need to get to know her.” she says.

The girl embarks on a new plan: she makes moon pies and takes them out to the edge of the woods where she meets the Dark

and then the two of them lead the night creatures to her garden. There plants spring to life, their delicious aromas wafting towards the homes of her neighbours who decide to follow their noses and are drawn to Millie’s garden eager to see what lies therein.

Millie Fleur tells them all to be brave, extinguish their lanterns and leave them behind, which they do; their path being lit by glowworms, fireflies and plants with delightful names such as ‘snoozing sugarplum’ and ‘forty-winks fern’. In the sparkling light the visiting children soon discover that the Dark offers amazing new experiences not found in the light.
Consequently, the lights around Garden Glen are switched off, magical moon gardens spring up and start to flourish as the nocturnal creatures settle in.

Finally, thanks to Millie Fleur the townsfolk have embraced the dark.

A magical bedtime tale that should help reassure children who are frightened of the dark. Christy Mandin’s illustrations of flora and fauna of the darkness evoke a sense of wonder that will enchant both young listeners and adult readers aloud.