A Great Big Night

Anthropomorphic woodland critters change the heart and mind of the community curmudgeon in this whimsical story about the power of music, community, and friendship. Three traveling frog musicians rattle into the forest on their painted bicycles, and all but one of the forest’s animals are overjoyed upon their arrival and excited to hear them play; however, the self-important grouse is not a fan of a racket nor a ruckus. He insists the frogs are “idlers… loafers… lollygaggers”, and demands an end to the rambunctious dance party they have initiated among the remainder of the forest’s inhabitants. In a way, the grouse gets his wish; a thunderclap sounds, and the forest is shaken by a formidable storm. Animals big and small run for cover, and the storm lasts all night.

In the clear, pink, dewy morning, the animals emerge from their homes, glad that the storm has passed, and they hear the grouse crying. His home was ruined in the storm, and he is beside himself with melodramatic woe. The frogs, good-hearted and eager to help despite the grouse’s earlier remarks, strike up the band as a call for aid. Every one hears the call, and the entire forest rushes to put the grouse’s home together again. Everyone helps in different ways, and Bear, for example, brings a blueberry salad. In no time at all, “a little cottage appeared as the happy beat of busy-time songs filled the air”, and grouse has a new home. He reluctantly sniffs, “riff-raff”, as he looks down at his feet and notices he is tapping his toe along to the music in spite of himself. As the frogs prepare to leave town, their merry band has gained a member – that very same grouse – newly enthusiastic, “if a little sheepish”. In this sweet, quirky tale, readers learn that music is for more than just a party; it can bring people together and rally a community. Readers also see that with patience and kindness, friendships can form in the unlikeliest of places.

I was already a fan of Bisaillon’s illustration style after seeing her gorgeous work on both The Snow Knows, as well as The Boreal Forest: A Year in the World’s Largest Land. The cut-and-paste collage style of the art in A Great Big Night is reminiscent of the creatures in the story and their work on the grouse’s house: plucky, handmade, slap-dash yet charming. The clothes the animals wear are sweet, stylish and fun. The forest setting is beautiful, gifting readers with layer upon diverse layer of lush watercolour trees, pencil-sketched flowers and colourful, strange plants to examine and enjoy. The animals, themselves, aren’t exactly “cute”, but they are endearing in a quirky, buck-toothed way.

The art pairs wonderfully with Inglis’s playful, poetic text. Inglis is an original and intriguing voice, her poetry often (but not always) rhyming, peppered with a perfect amount of onomatopoetic fun, and containing offbeat vocabulary and phrases,

All in all, A Great Big Night is a lovely, weird little book with a simple, clear message that may not be for the mainstream but that worked its way quietly into my heart.