I came across Elise Hurst's books at the Abbotsford Makers' Market a couple of weeks ago and I love all three she had on sale. She is a talented artist who works in a variety of mediums. The Night Garden appears somewhat inspired by Where The Wild Things Are but it's a girl who goes adventuring. I love the whimsy of the book and the places Sally's imagination takes her. Her cat is there as a not so willing participant and that adds a minor element of tension. Elise Hurst's illustrations are beautifully detailed and that adds much to a reread and more rereads. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed the whimsy of this. The slightly transgressive innocence of drawing the garden different to reality and the queer night wind drawing her out into it as well as her reluctant companion the cat.

Dreamlike, creative possibilities begun on a foggy pane of glass on a rainy day. I loved it.

This was a random find in a local library which I just had to read because I recognised the name of the author-illustrator as a friend of a friend. It tells the story of a young girl, Sally, and her black cat, Strange, as they venture out into a transformed garden at night. The text is joyous and musical and the illustrations are just gorgeous and clever, particularly the inside front and back covers which are a juxtaposition of the garden by day and night. I loved the black cross-hatching technique, particularly for the cat, the luminosity of Sally's orange dress, and the weird and wonderful hedge creatures of the garden. Makes me long for my own night garden.