In the Dark: The Science of What Happens at Night

In the Dark: The Science of What Happens at Night will keep you up at night – for all the right reasons.

Ever wondered what you might be missing while you are asleep? Maybe wondering if plants sleep?

Spoiler alert: “Scientists have discovered that plants do a kind of math inside their leaves at night, and there are several species that bloom only under moonlight.” (p. 5)

In The Dark: The Science of What Happens at Night is a STEM book with chapters on “What Happens after Dark?”, “Sleep Uncovered”, “Nocturnal Creatures”, “Plant Life at Night”, and “The Night Sky”. Topics include information about astronomy, plants, animals, the human body, and more. Although this may be author Lisa Deresti Betik’s first book, she has created a winner. I can’t wait to see what her next topic is.

For once the cover of the book does justice to the content. Illustrator Josh Holinaty’s simple dark-colour illustrations are filled with images tied to the text in a way that enhances the magic of the nighttime facts. The illustrations really do light up the text.

Holinaty’s graphic comic style illustrations are a perfect match for the story of a science fair project gone awry.

In 1964, an American teenager named Randy Gardner wanted to do something exciting for his science fair project. He decided to try to break the Guinness World Record for staying awake the longest, which meant going without any sleep at all for 11 whole days and nights. (Pp. 6-7)

The illustrations show a teenage boy getting cranky, developing blurred vision, and hallucinating in a series of comic strip-style boxes.

As tempting as it may be to some to try to beat this record, the author has included a text box with an update.

Guinness World Records no longer keeps track of the longest time spent awake. Because long periods of sleeplessness can be dangerous for humans, Guinness didn’t want to encourage other people to try the same experiment Randy did. (p. 6)

In The Dark: The Science of What Happens at Night includes a glossary, index, and a list of additional print and digital resources. This book provides a rich wealth of information that will appeal to readers of all ages, including the adults who may explore it with younger students. A truly captivating multi-generational book.