Picture books give kids a peek into the beautiful, busy night

We’re in the season of longer nights and deeper dark, of rising before the sun does and coming home after it sets. It can be dreary — or exhilarating, if you appreciate the magic of a night sky and the hidden bustle of nighttime work. These four picture books all take lavishly illustrated looks at what the night can bring, whether it’s cosmic, surprising, cheerful or elegant.

“The Blanket Where Violet Sits” by Allan Wolf, illustrated by Lauren Tobia. (Ages 3 through 7. Candlewick Press. $17.99.)

Gazing up at the night sky from the blanket where she sits with her parents and her snacks, Violet is just one small girl in a big world, on “the planet with a moon so pretty/ that shines on the park in the bustling city.” As the evening goes on, her view expands — to the planets, the Milky Way, and the universe, full of “galaxies clustered in clouds.”

A lyrical and lovely look at the great world beyond us, this ode to the endless wonder of the night sky ends on a cozy note, as Violet dozes off in her family’s arms. “Moonlight” by Stephen Savage. (Ages 4 through 8. Neal Porter Books. $18.99.)

Simple and soothing, this poetic book about silvery moonlight traces its shimmery path “swinging through the trees, slithering down tangled vines.”

Stephen Savage illustrates his nighttime scenes with bold linocuts in an elegant, limited palette that highlights the splashes and streaks of moonlight that finally arrive “in your bedroom, next to you, softly fading,” until they return again the next evening.

“Mushroom Lullaby” by Kenneth Kraegel. (Ages 2 through 5. Candlewick Press. $17.99.)

There’s a dreamy quality to both Kenneth Kraegel’s words and his exquisitely detailed ink-and-watercolor illustrations in this ode to a fairy-tale day in a mushroom world. Snails and butterflies sip lemonade and play checkers, and when the day is done, a cozy, colorful mushroom home awaits: “You head up your soft mushroom stair and read a book in your big mushroom chair,” then climb into a springy fungus bed as the stars come out.

Quirky, sweet and soothing, this lullaby invites readers to close their eyes and find their way to a friendly, fungus-filled dreamland. “All Through the Night: Important Jobs That Get Done at Night” by Polly Faber, illustrated by Harriet Hobday. (Ages 2 through 5. Nosy Crow. $17.99.)

As the evening sky fills with orange and lavender, a little girl gets ready for bed while her mother prepares for a night at work as a bus driver: “She’s got an important job to do.”

The dark sky and neon hues of Harriet Hobday’s paint-and-pencil illustrations portray the work world after dark as friendly and busy, full of office cleaners, security guards, police officers, musicians, journalists and doctors.

As the mom’s bus glides through the background, this whirlwind tour includes a kind of labor young families will appreciate — “Babies don’t sleep through the night right away, so new parents work hard at night too!”

At the end, Mom makes it home from her night shift, ready for a well-deserved rest in her sun-streaked bed.