Night Blooming Jasmine

Jasmine is sleeping soundly when a gentle tapping on her window awakens her. It’s the sweet-smelling jasmine vine, calling her to come and find the life outside her window. As Jasmine ventures downstairs, she hears the nighttime sounds of ticking clocks and ribbiting frogs. She discovers that there is a bustling world in her own backyard. What critters will Jasmine uncover as she looks out into the night? Night Blooming Jasmine is sure to delight young readers with its enchanting illustrations, softly drawn in cool, beautiful colors that evoke the magic of the night. Written in rhythmic verse with flowing rhymes the story is fun and engaging, making it a perfect book to read aloud while introducing the night behavior of familiar animals. Interesting facts about nocturnal animal activity are included at the end of the book.

Diane de Anda is a professor emerita of social welfare at UCLA, and a community voice on violence prevention and stress management among adolescents. She has written 17 children’s books and edited four books on multicultural social work. Her work focuses on empowering Latino youth. Diane fondly remembers the enchantment of her night walks as a young girl, enjoying all the nocturnal sights and sounds. Night Blooming Jasmine is her second book with Star Bright Books. Diane lives in Playa del Rey, California. Kendra Binney grew up in a small mountain town with no shoe stores. She spent most of her time barefoot, exploring the tiny world of spiders, snakes, and whatever else was hiding in the grass. She translates this closeness with the small and obscure into her paintings. Kendra spends most of her days in a small studio in Portland, Oregon. There she paints, daydreams, and paints some more. Her paintings and illustrations have been exhibited and published around the world. Visit her website at www.kendra-binney.com.