Luminous: Living Things That Light Up the Night

In this lovely book, a young adult and a child explore the fascinating worlds of bioluminescent creatures. Luminous is actually two books in one: a lyrical invitation to join the pair on their journey – on foot, by boat, and even in their imaginations – and factual paragraphs about the plants and animals that they encounter along the way.

You could gleam on the forest floor or shimmer inside a shadowy cave.

You could use your light to dazzle the deepest ocean depths or to startle and distract your enemies or even to find a snack!

The book features fungi, glowworms, anglerfish, vampire squid, dragonfish, crown jellyfish, common piddocks (a type of clam) and jeweled squid, each of which makes its own light. Some creatures use this ability to attract prey or to startle their enemies, but scientists don’t fully understand all of the purposes of bioluminescence. That said, it is estimated that over 75% of animals living in the open ocean make their own light. In fact, in dimly lit parts of the world where light pollution is not prevalent, bioluminescence can occasionally be seen by astronauts from space.

Black backgrounds illuminate the text which is printed in two different font sizes and colours, a large white font for the more poetic text, and a smaller, pale blue one for the factual sections. Even the end papers demonstrate attention to detail as those at the front of the book differ from those at the back. The illustrations, rendered from different vantage points, have a purposely limited colour palette, yet effectively showcase each of the featured living things with delicate lines and pinpoints of light.

Luminous serves as a basic introduction to bioluminescence for the younger reader, and its message of becoming aware of nature’s wonders is a positive one. Though the illustrations are beautifully done, what could have taken this book to the next level would have been to print the bioluminescent areas of each creature in glow-in-the-dark ink.