The Night the Carousel Came to Life by Michael Gray (Author) and Parisa Kheirkhah (Illustrator)
This review first appeared on Reader Views. Read the Reader Views version here.
A young boy named Beckham is at his favorite place: the zoo. He watches all of the animals being themselves, but he particularly relishes it when he gets to ride the zoo’s carousel. Unlike a typical carousel that just has colorful ponies to ride, the zoo’s carousel has all sorts of wild animals as possible mounts. Beckham loves everything about the carousel: the animals, the music, and the movement. This time, when he gets ready to leave the zoo, though, Beckham wonders how the carousel animals can look so real but not be in a zoo enclosure. As he gets ready for bed, he asks his parents about where the carousel animals sleep since they don’t have their own enclosures. His parents smile and tell him that they live in dreamland. And so, when Beckham dreams, he encounters each carousel animal in turn. But what will he learn from these encounters? How can animals show Beckham how to live as a human boy? And will he remember them when he wakes up?
The Night the Carousel Came to Life by Michael Gray is a whimsical, but relatable story. Many young kids–and even adults like me–love going to the zoo and watching the animals. And many zoos do have a fun carousel with wild animals for mounts. As a child who often wondered if animal sculptures were alive (perhaps because her older brother told her they were), I identified with Beckham wondering what happened to the carousel animals at night.
While I don’t want to give too much of the animals’ lessons that they impart to Beckham away, I will say that many of them are not only helpful to young kids, but also to adults. One example is the lesson that Beckham learns from the panda. The panda shows Beckham how sometimes we need to pause, take in the quiet, and feel grounded in order to grow from within. Many kids need to learn how to just sit still and take in the moment–but so do adults who often have to hustle and bustle about.
Gray’s prose has a pace and rhyming that work quite well. The easy rhymes and gentle cadence of the words make reading the book aloud a pleasant experience. Additionally, this combination would allow the book to be read as a gentle bedtime story, as it allows young ones to drift off to sleep with a reliable rhythm.
The Night the Carousel Came to Life is illustrated by Parisa Kheirkhah. Kheirkhah renders all of the animals realistically enough that young readers can feel as though they’re at a zoo, but gently enough so that any harsh edges or frightening aspects of the animals are smoothed over. While the animals are a clear highlight of Kheirkhah’s art, my favorite part of her work was her use of light. Light plays across many of the pages in almost magical ways. I think you especially see this during Beckham’s dreamscape. Dots of light begin as fireflies, but then disperse throughout the world as just seemingly magical orbs. The glow of the carousel in the dark dreamscape also emphasizes how enchanting the carousel feels to Beckham. Light is also used throughout the dreamscape to indicate a passage of time, which can often be lost in a dreamy sequence. This indicates to readers that the end of the dream is coming closer, but that dawn is breaking, and the dreamworld and the real world will reunite in light.
The Night the Carousel Came to Life is a wonderful picture book for any child–or adult–who has been enchanted by a zoo or by carousels. Clearly imparting gentle life lessons throughout, author Michael Gray is able to keep readers enchanted by his use of rhyme and rhythm. The story is further enhanced by the enchanting use of light in the artwork by illustrator Parisa Kheirkhah. I highly encourage you to take a look at this delightful book.
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