Counting down from ten to one, a girl and a boy empty the night sky of fireflies as-counting up from one to ten-they fill their jar with them. But once captured, the fireflies' light flickers and fades, so in a generous good-night gesture, the children release them.

Luminous pictures and a chant-aloud text combine to make this two-way counting book as joyous and magical as catching fireflies on a summer night.

Lyrical, expressive, varied, and excellent for reading out loud.
-School Library Journal, starred review

A book quietly luminous as its subject.
-Kirkus Reviews

Elegant mathematical simplicity and careful rhyme, illustrated in keeping with its nocturnal theme and bedtime role.
- NAPPA Awards

National Parenting Publications Awards, Gold Medal, 1995
Smithsonian Magazine Notable Books for Children, 1995
Booklinks Salutes a Few Good Books, 1995
American Bookseller Pick of the Lists