It’s getting dark. I’ve had my tea. I’ve brushed my teeth and put on my pyjamas.
My Mum’s had her breakfast. She’s brushed her hair and put on her coat.
While Dad tidies up, Mum blows a kiss and waves goodbye.
She’s got an important job to do.

Lots of people work at night. The little girl in this book tells us that Sammy cleans offices. It’s too difficult to clean during the day as everybody is there. She says Georgio is in the office, too, watching his camera screens and keeping the building safe, while out on the street Hassan and Amina are in their police car keeping the streets safe. Kisi is a news reporter and she also works all through the night so people can hear the important news when they wake up. Some people fill the supermarket’s shelves for tomorrow’s shoppers and deliver eggs and flour to Luigi at his bakery so he can make yummy cakes and sticky buns for us to enjoy.

So many busy people at night! And we mustn’t forget the doctors and nurses in the hospitals and the ambulance drivers who take us there if we need to get there quickly.

All Through the Night is a great little picture book with lots of bright and busy pages that help tell these stories.

Reviewed by Merle Morcom
Age Guide 4+

THINGS YOU DIDN”T KNOW ABOUT POLLY FABER

1. I had chicken pox at 12 days old. Apparently, I looked like I’d been covered in raspberry jam and rolled in rice krispies.
2. I am the youngest of four children. This has trained me to be very good at eating treats quickly.
3. I always wanted a pet as a child and used to look out for an abandoned puppy, kitten or pony on every country walk. Meeting a tapir on a zebra crossing would have been wonderful.
4. Unlike Mango, I am not at all good at karate or chess but I AM good at making and eating pancakes. My clarinet playing is a lot like hers.
5. I love reading aloud and being read to. My dad carried on reading to me until I was almost a teenager and I plan on still reading to my children until they force me to stop! Even then I may carry on, sitting on the landing with a book, bellowing outside their shut bedroom doors.
6. I can do impressions of a tortoise eating a piece of tomato and a rasher of frying bacon.
7. I have a beautiful Bengal cat who looks like a leopard. His full name is Goldhills Pride Thundercat Indiana Jones Faber the Magnificent but we just call him Jones because that’s easier. He likes to catch frogs.
8. Singing karaoke with my sons or my friends makes me happy. I am not at all a good singer but that doesn’t seem to matter.
9. We have a tiny book swap library outside our house where anyone can take or leave a book. Watching people stop and browse is a bit like having a bird table.
10. If there’s a choice, I’ll always choose the chocolate pudding and generally, the yellow shoes.

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