Ten Flashing Fireflies

Two children catch fireflies on a summer night, putting them one by one into a jar until all ten are caught, and then they let them out to watch all ten fly away.

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

Publishers Weekly

Breaking up the deep grays, purples and the black of night with incandescent spots of light, the illustrator of this imaginatively conceived book captures the magic of summer evenings and the mysterious glow of fireflies. These marvelous creatures of nature, meanwhile, are deployed in debut author Sturges's poetic counting lesson. ``What do we see in the summer night?/ Ten flashing fireflies burning bright!/ Catch the one twinkling there/ Like a star./ One flashing firefly in our jar.'' A brother and sister add nine more fireflies to their collection; later, in their bedroom, they free the fireflies when their light begins to fade, counting down from 10 to one as the insects escape through the window and begin to glow again. This counting book, with atmospheric, dusky chalk illustrations and a subtle lesson in compassion, makes a memorable entry in a heavily populated picture-book category. Ages 3-6. (May)

Philemon Sturges was an architect and the author of several books for children, including "I Love Trains!, I Love Trucks!, I Love Planes!, I Love School!, " and "I Love Bugs!"

Anna Vojtech has illustrated numerous books for children, mostly folktales and stories about nature. Nature has always been a strong source of inspiration for Anna. Her pictures are full of flowers and animals, of giraffes and elephants, of little birds and chipmunks. Folktales are also about people, their nature and their spirit. Her illustrations have brought readers closer to the stories and traditions of their countries.
Anna grew up in Prague, Czechoslovakia, what is now the Czech Republic. "Prague was a magical place to grow up. We were surrounded by beauty, mystery, history and by nature." She studied art and toy design at the School of Applied Arts and animation film and graphics at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. Later she attended the Royal Academy in Antwerp, Belgium and the Academy of Fine Arts in Hamburg, Germany where she met her German-American husband.
Since 1982 she has lived on Cape Ann, Massachusetts with her husband and their two sons.