(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

The sun has set, the day has ended, but the night hasn't quite arrived yet. This magical twilight is known as the blue hour. Everything in nature—sky, water, flowers, birds, foxes—comes together in a symphony of blue to celebrate the merging of night and day.
With its soothing text and radiant artwork, this elegant picture book displays the majesty of nature and reminds readers that beauty is fleeting but also worth savoring.

Beautiful.
Exquisite.
Glorious.

And that is just the artwork...

The variety of shades of blue - and the flora and fauna that are blue - are amazing and, the rest of the story is great as well. While this is a children's book, I don't think it would look out of place on any adult's bookshelf.


Paul
ARH

What a lovely book! Simler's text and stunning illustrations are calming and give a sense of the slow end of the day, making this a perfect bedtime book.

I read this with my granddaughters. The illustrations are lovely; it is a delightful, visual view of nature.

The ‘blue hour’ is that twilight time when sun has gone down but the dark of night has not yet arrived. The sky, the water, the fauna, animals and birds shine out softly, in all sorts of glorious blues. The images are beautiful and I really loved how the creatures are located on the final pages in their native countries. The only problem I had was that the text was very small to read, even on my computer. I was glad that my granddaughters were reading with me as the eight-year-old was able to read the story for us.

This is very lovely. I do recommend this as a wonderful, delightful book to share with young… and old.

I received this book through NetGalley. My rating 4.75.

This is very profoundly illustrated and colored book with a simple, beautiful story about nature and animals preparing for nighttime.

Premise: The blue hour is the time when the day has ended and the night hasn't quite begun, when everything seems to be cast in a shade of blue. Various animals sing to greet the night and their friends, as they slip home to prepare for sleep. Some are watching over their eggs, some are finding that last meal, and some are settling down. As the blue hour gets darker, everything becomes quieter: "They wait for this moment every evening, silently...and the night softly wraps them in its quiet."

What a gorgeous book! The focus on one color in a variety of shades really intensified the experience of the story. Blue is a calming color, and since the story is about animals settling down for the night, I found this to be a great book to read at bedtime with my son. I like that Simler featured a variety of animals, including different types of birds whose calls you might hear in the evening and some animals you might not usually think about, like glass snails. Simler keeps the story simple as well. There is a gorgeous picture with just a little sentence or two on each page, which keeps the focus on the illustrations and makes this a great book for toddlers to younger school age children. We'll definitely be picking up a copy of this regularly for bedtime!

'The Blue Hour' by Isabelle Simler is a picture book for bedtime with soothing text and beautiful illustrations.

The book is all told in varying shades of blue. As the day fades and the night comes in, the blue gets darker. Against this blue backdrop are the different animals and plants that are also blue. Like blue herons and blue whales. Bluebells and cornflowers shine off the pages. The book ends with the animals waiting silently for the night. The final page shows where are the different animals can be found in the world.

The book begins with a color chart of all the shades of blue, and I think most or all of them are used in the book. I love the progression of color from lighter to darker blue. I like the peacefulness and beauty of these pictures showing not a scary dark world, but one full of wonder. If you are looking for a beautiful picture book to share with your little one during quiet time, this is a good choice.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This is a very blue book, as the sunsets the world turns blue. There are wonderful illustrations here, bright, realistic and sure to keep the attention of readers. With a wonderful array of unique animals and plants showing this wonderful planet. The map at the end finished this book off nicely depicting each critter and where they live.

The Blue House is a perfect bedtime story while at the same time great for older children introducing them to different, colorful and animals they might not be familiar with.

Thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for an advanced copy.

A whole book about my favorite color! I especially loved the descriptions and illustrations.

The Blue Hour is a gorgeous children’s book filled with exquisite illustrations displaying vivid and vibrant colours. It boats neatly-crafted drawings in a vast range of blue nuances. It’s a sweet ode to nature, its wildlife and the peace and quiet of dusk.

I’m sure children will love to learn about the multiple animals represented in the book, as well as enjoy the soothing message it conveys.

The Blue Hour by Isabelle Simler will be released this Febr 20th by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Stunning, beautiful, dreaming paintings of all the nature of the Globe. Passing through the Artic's nature, frogs, birds, wolves, this one is a book dedicated to children but I would want to enlarge the public/readers at adult ones, nature-lovers because too beauty for not being on the shelf of the house of everyone.

The book with its spectacular, relaxing painting of nature portrayed during the blue hour a special moment, when day and night are fused and in unison they speak an only voice and language that it still is not the one of the night and can't be anymore the one, bright and colored of the day.

Colors are beautiful, from cobalt to blue, white/ice, but never sad or cold for a fascinating and suggestive natural trip. Magical and impressive.

I loved tremendously, loved the painting of bluebirds, like also the one of the serpent and the landscape with a hill, sweet trees, a owl in the tree and an eagle flying somewhere.


I thank NetGalley and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

The cover and artwork of this children’s book is incredibly appealing. The illustrations initially drew my attention to read and review this book by, Isabelle Simler. I will say, I was unfortunately disappointed in the content and inconsistency of how it was written though. This book has the lovely opportunity through serene colors and tranquil graphics to tell a more in depth story than the reader actually receives.

The lives of the wildlife are described through minimal behavior and I believe Simler misses an opportunity to explain them further. Simler writes, “In that moment, a blue jay raises its crest and lets out a piercing cry.” I would have love to have seen an addition similar to, “in that moment, a blue jay raises its crest and lets out a piercing cry, signaling to all, the most beautiful hour has finally arrived.” As well, Simler writes, “a blue fox slips through the arctic cold.” Yet, how much more appealing to read to a child, “a blue fox slips through the arctic cold, looking forward to the warmth of its den.”

I am generally cut and dry and do not always add much emphasis when I speak to others. However, to draw the attention of a child and encourage them to see the beauty of nature and it’s stillness, I believe more description and depth could be a game changer for Simler and The Blue Hour.

The other inconsistency I noticed is the use of bold words. One page has a bold emphasis on, blue poison dart frogs, then it’s vulterine guineafowl and glass snails (no “blue” included), lastly “the blue hour settles in, and nature becomes still” does not have any type of bold emphasis as it does in the first page. The inconsistencies would not resonate with a child but stand out for me as I read it. I honestly believe the bold emphasis does not add tremendous value and the book would be just as pleasant without the emphasis.

I am grateful to have read the book and do not think it is unworthy by any means. I just see some great opportunities for it to be even better and impact more families! I would rate The Blue Hour:

rating: 2/5

Check out The Blue Hour coming 2/20/17!!!

I thought this one was really pretty-the art work was lovely and I liked the theme of blue, but I found it confusing that the animals were from so many different habitats. I thought the map at the end made it clear that the animals were from all over the world but as the story progressed it felt disconnected and I think kids would be as confused as I was.

A wonderful lyrical celebration of nature's beauty!! The blue hour begins as the day comes to an end. And it is the time when the world turns still, when all the hidden animals come alive just before the night falls.
The author recreates this solitary moment of life through magnificent illustrations in different shades of blue and lulls the readers with her poetic text. From the skyline to the ponds, fauna & flora and animals are all colored in blue shades. Since it is based on the blue hour, she rhythmically introduces a number of lesser known animals who are also blue, in a manner that would arouse the kids' curiosity; a blue fox, a blue jay and the blue poison dart frog to name few. "Among the water lilies, blue poison dart frogs gather,croaking to each other."
At the beginning of the book there is a table of blue shades with thirty-six different shades from pale blue to midnight blue. Her illustrations make use of all those shades which in turn provides a glimpse of the color combinations to kids.
It is a book that will urge children to love and behold nature!!

This would be an amazing bedtime book. It is dusk and the sky and the world are blue. Isabelle Simler, who also illustrated this book does an amazing job of showing us the world at that fleeting time as the sun sets. Along with the blue horizon, she shows us a variety of plants and animals that are also blue, from around the world. I never realized that there were that many. It is a soothing, quiet story that would be sure to help ready the little ones for a night of sleep. Gorgeous illustrations accompany the text. A great book for bedtime, for those who love to learn about animals and nature as well as a great book for teaching about colours and art. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

This was a great story and so pretty! We really enjoyed reading this book at home. Children and adults will love reading this vibrantly illustrated book!

What a wonderful book. The blue hour is that darkening time of day when life and the world slows down, light fades, nature slows and blue seems to predominate in the natural world as night arrives. Isabelle Simler (who also illustrates) presents the wide range of blues that occur in nature and shows the flora, fauna, the many faces of our world with beautiful images.

While this may be considered a book for the young among us, I think I would like a copy for myself. I would also like to give it to great-nieces and nephews.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys nature and artistic renderings--and everyone partial to blue!

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I received this ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.
This is a gorgeous book about things that are blue. It is a compilation of plants and animals that are all the color blue. This book would be great for an introduction to colors and or nature. I would love to see a series with each color.

This is easily one of the most prettiest books I've read. All the different blues makes for an easy to look at, calming book. Perfect for bedtime.

The artwork alone is worth reading this book for, but the story stands high in my viewpoint as well. Highly recommend.

This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever seen. Go buy yourself a copy. Adults and children alike.