Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
As the sun sets, the tale of the house in the night begins with its golden key. In a progression of brief, simple statements in the cumulative pattern of “The green grass grew all around,” we move from, “in the house burns a light,” and “In that light rests a bed,” through a book, a bird, a song, and the moon glowing in the dark. Then we progress back past the moon in the dark and the dark in the song, into the light in the house and the key to the “home full of light.” The restful cadences wish us a good night. This old-fashioned story structure is pictured in scratchboard with touches of yellow watercolor to create the light. Detailed double-page scenes with shapes suggesting sculptured objects with play of black and white areas create inviting landscapes, peaceful undulating hills, and ribbons of roads making a community. Krommes uses her medium to produce a variety of textures that add design complexity as they enhance the spare tale. 2008, Houghton Mifflin Company, $17.00. Ages 3 to 6.

Leslie Greaves Radloff (Children's Literature)
Black-and-white illustrations with highlights of brightness are used to illustrate this cumulative story of a child who is given a key to a house just as the sun sets and the lights in the house go on. Following the light, the child goes through the front door into the bedroom where a book lies on the bed. The book, our story within a story, literally captures the young reader and sails away with the child into the night sky far over the town, farther away into space, and then slowly makes their way back to the house where things are the same but a little different, too. Light shines in through the window as the child lies peacefully sleeping, having been tucked into bed by the mother. This story for the very youngest readers has spare text and carefully chosen words set in larger type for the young eyes. Krommes’ illustrations remind one of Wanda Gags’ drawings for Millions of Cats, and also of the woodcuts found in older texts. Illustrations are undulating and softly curved with extra light highlighting portions of the illustration. Kindergarteners listening to the story enjoyed pointing out where similar illustrations differed and the parts that were highlighted in yellow. The flight over the town has a surreal feel to it that appeals to imaginations. 2008, Houghton Mifflin, $17.00. Ages 5 to 7.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices 2009)
This “song about the starry dark” begins with a young girl arriving home in the evening. The spare, cumulative story builds: “In the house burns a light. / In that light rests a bed.” On the bed is a book, and through the pages of the story the girl embarks on a journey of the imagination, soaring with a bird through the night sky before she returns to the warmth and comfort of home. Striking black-and-white scratchboard illustrations are punctuated by judicious washes of gold that radiate warmth. These form both a backdrop for and a complement to the lyrical text, which resonates with sounds and images to savor in a comforting yet surprising journey toward day’s end. CCBC Category: Picture Books for Babies, Toddlers, and Preschoolers. 2008, Houghton Mifflin, 40 pages, $17.00. Ages 2-5.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2008 (Vol. 76, No. 7))
Inspired by a traditional poem from The Oxford Nursery Rhyme Book, Swanson's cumulative tale begins, "Here is the key to the house." Readers are welcomed inside the house, where they find a light, a bed within the light, a book on that bed and a bird inside that book. The book opens to reveal a bird that sings a song about the dark, and within that song are the moon and the sun shining on the moon's face. And then, from deep in the night, the poem begins to climb back out of itself: "Sun in the moon, / moon in dark, / dark in the song, / song in the bird," and so forth, finally arriving back to "the house in the night" which is, indeed, a "home full of light." Krommes's breathtaking scratchboard illustrations, in black and white with accents of yellow and gold, embody and enhance the text's message that light and dark, like comfort and mystery, are not mutually exclusive, but integral parts of each other. 2008, Houghton Mifflin, 40p, $16.00. Category: Picture book. Ages 3 to 7. Starred Review. © 2008 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rebecca Schroder (Kutztown University Book Review, Spring 2009)
The House in the Night is a beautifully illustrated picture book that contains a bedtime story and was inspired by traditional poems with cumulative patterns. Readers are offered a sense of peace as this book artistically comes full circle after taking a child on an adventure in a black and white world where certain objects of the night are emphasized by a golden glow. Created by Beth Krommes, the unique illustrations in this book are brought to life by intricate crosshatching and careful placement of lines. Educators around the world might find this book particularly useful when teaching about the very poems that inspired this book (including “This is the key of the kingdom” and “This is the house that Jack built”). Adults might find this book particularly useful on those nights when bedtime cannot be complete until a bedtime story makes certain little ones feel safe and sound. Category: Picture Book. 2008, Houghton Mifflin, $17.00. Ages 7 to 10.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2008)
Here is the key to the house. In the house burns a light." So begins a soothing bedtime verse that ends with a child tucked in bed, bathed by the light of the moon. The quiet patterned text is accompanied by dramatic black-and-white scratchboard illustrations with just enough gold touches to fill the pages with gentle light. Category: Preschool. 2008, Houghton, 40pp, $16.00 (hb). Ages 2 to 5. Rating: 3: Recommended, satisfactory in style, content, and/or illustration.

Leah Rosson (The Lorgnette - Heart of Texas Reviews (Vol. 21, No. 2))
This book seems rather austere upon first perusal. The illustrations are rather primitive, and there are only three colors used in the book: black, white, and gold. Younger students may be reluctant to read this book because of the lack of visual appeal, but this book has other uses than recreational reading. Teachers will find this book excellent for teaching inverted sentences and prepositional phrases. The sentence structure of the book is repetitive. Each sentence begins with a prepositional phrase, followed by a verb, followed by the subject. From the lower grades to the upper grades, this book would come in handy to introduce or reinforce language concepts. Fiction. Grades K-12. 2008, Houghton Mifflin, Unpaged., $17.00. Ages 5 to 18.