One Light

Gr 1-3–Mouse, a dark-haired girl, feels lonely on a rainy evening just as the lights go out when an idea sparks in her resourceful mind. Using a lantern Mouse made at school, she lights it and places it on her porch, guiding a neighbor arriving home and inspiring an idea of his own. Now, the neighbor has a lantern on his window, motivating a cyclist passing by to follow suit. In this circular-driven plot, the creative thinking of one girl inspires a whole community. Matheson uses the phrase “one light can make a difference” to bring life to a narrative of neighborhood fellowship. The narrative offers plenty of vocabulary words for early elementary students. This picture book could be used in a winter story hour at the public and school libraries, emphasizing creative thinking and the value of community. To convey the story, the illustrator uses mixed media such as stencils, collages, printmaking, monoprints, crayons, pencils, and ink to create descriptive art. To some, the use of blue shades in the street scene may offer more of a sense of serenity than one of a “dreary evening,” as presented at the onset of this story.