Firefly Song Lynn Frierson Faust and the Great Smoky Mountain Discovery

The Leaf Detective meets fireflies in this inspirational nonfiction picture book from Sibert Honoree Colleen Paeff about how one woman proved to scientists that the fireflies she had watched as a young girl put on dazzling and impossibly synchronous nighttime performances.

Every year, Lynn spends her summers roaming the forests of the Great Smoky Mountains and watching the fireflies light up the night. As she gets older, she realizes there’s something special about these Great Smoky fireflies. Each night they seem to perform a dazzling synchronized light show!

She tries to learn more, but scientists tell her that synchronous fireflies don’t exist in the western hemisphere. Lynn may not be a scientist, but she wonders like a scientist and pays attention like a scientist. She believes in herself and the silent song of the fireflies.

With determination and hard work, Lynn sets out to convince the scientific community that she’s right—and to tell the world about the beauty of the firefly show she’s seen her entire life.

Fueled by English breakfast tea, a burning curiosity, and a love of research, Colleen Paeff writes from a book-lined office in an old pink house with a view of the Hollywood sign. Visit her online at ColleenPaeff.com.

Ji-Hyuk Kim has been illustrating for over ten years. His work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, and children’s books—including the chapter book adaptations of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series, Ainsley Earhardt’s Through Your Eyes, Firefly Song by Colleen Paeff, and Jennifer Weiner’s The Littlest Bigfoot series, among others. Learn more at Hanuol.com.