The Midnight Fair

"This splendid story needs no words: gorgeous landscapes celebrate nature’s beauty, while luminous renderings of the carnival depict magical moments. Children will savor this glorious, wordless night to remember." —Booklist (starred review)

Far from the city, but not quite the countryside, lies a fairground. When night comes and the fair is empty, something unexpected happens. Wild animals emerge from the forest, a brave raccoon pulls a lever, and the roller coasters and rides explode back into bright, neon life. It’s time for the woodland creatures to head to the fair! In a gorgeous wordless picture book, author Gideon Sterer and illustrator Mariachiara Di Giorgio offer an exuberant take on what animals are up to when humans are asleep. Suffused with color and light, the panel illustrations celebrate the inherent humor and joy in deer flying by on chair-swings, a bear winning a stuffed bear, three weasels carrying a soft pretzel, and a badger driving a bumper car. With thrills both spectacular and subtle, Midnight Fair will have readers punching their tickets again and again to revel in this fantastic nocturnal world.

Gideon Sterer is the author of many books for children, including the New York Times best-selling The Christmas Owl, cowritten by Ellen Kalish and illustrated by Ramona Kaulitzki. He grew up in the woods of upstate New York, where his parents owned a small zoo. After hours he would often run around and let the animals out of their cages. Who knows what sort of midnight mischief they got into? Gideon Sterer lives in Brooklyn.

Mariachiara Di Giorgio is an illustrator, storyboard artist, and concept designer. She created her first picture book, the wordless Professional Crocodile, with writer Giovanna Zoboli. Her work has been exhibited at the Bologna Children's Book Fair and with the New York Society of Illustrators. Mariachiara Di Giorgio lives in Rome, Italy.