The Night Worker by Kate Banks. Pictures by Georg Hallensleben (2000)

Farrar Straus Giroux

The 2000 Charlotte Zolotow Award Winning Children’s Picture Book

Every night Alex’s father goes to work. On most nights as his father puts Alex to bed he asks his father “Take me with you.” One night his father says “Come on.” Alex gets a hard hat, and sees all kinds of workers in the night streets as they head toward a construction site. At the site, Alex watches the big machines move dirt, mix cement, and prepare a foundation for a big skyscraper. Alex wants to help, and his father puts him on a big yellow loader where he gets to push some levers. When a whistle sounds, it’s to take a break.  Alex’s father takes him back home and he crawls into bed and dreams of being a night worker.

Kate’s words and description of the adventure are exciting and comforting at the same time – as father and son bond. The illustration by Hallensleben are almost elementary drawings, but effective in setting the mood for the night adventure.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kate Banks was born in 1960 in Maine and attended Wellesley College and Columbia University. She’s written 30 children’s picture books and has received numerous awards on a number of her books. Besides the Zolotow Award, she’s also received awards from the New York Times, School Library Journal, Parent’s Magazine, and more.

For more about Alan Elliott visit www.alanelliott.com