The Midnight Club

Written by Shane Goth

Illustrated by Yong Ling Kang

Owlkids Books

978-1-77147-394-1

40 pp.

Ages 3-7

October 2021

 

The darkness of the night doesn't stand a chance when two sisters, and a cat, head out on a secret adventure, unbeknownst to their sleeping parents. With a secret hand sign and a quiet step, the Midnight Club is in session.

From The Midnight Club by Shane Goth, illus. by Yong Ling Kang

After Milly wakes up her older sister Becca and they give the secret sign of the Midnight Club–one finger on one hand and two on the other–the two girls sneak out of their bedroom and guardedly past their parents' room. In a game, following the club's rule of not touching the shadows, the pair cautiously make their way down the creaky stairs to the uncharted land of their night-time main floor. They enjoy their dad's forbidden chair and jelly beans, including the use of his back-scratcher, try on their mother's clothes and play with the shadows made by the streetlights.

From The Midnight Club by Shane Goth, illus. by Yong Ling Kang

Always listening for a creak or a scratch, they let in Oliver the cat a.k.a. the President of the Midnight Club, before playing a feline version of Follow the Leader. And even though they are reluctant to admit sleepiness, the two sisters yawn and stretch and return to bed as carefully as they vacated it, determined to keep the secret of the Midnight Club.

From The Midnight Club by Shane Goth, illus. by Yong Ling Kang

Though this is Shane Goth's first picture book, this Vancouver writer has the lightness of touch to charm us with a story of the sisters' night time exploration of their house. It's not just sneaking out of their room at night; it's an opportunity to bond and let their imaginations play while both safe in the familiar and vulnerable with the novelty. There is play and some impulsivity though also caution. Most of all, there is togetherness as Becca and Milly delve into the unknown nature of their home.

From The Midnight Club by Shane Goth, illus. by Yong Ling Kang

Yong Ling Kang's artwork has graced several picture books previously reviewed here (Tanna's Owl and This House is Home) so I know that she has a fluid style that fits the story. As such, her pencil and watercolour art in The Midnight Club gives the story the low-light softness of a late night caper. The blues, greens and purples of the dark house are never scary, only mysterious, compared to the brightness of the occasional light inside or outside the house, illuminating the children with warmth and an etherealness. Yong Ling Kang's delicate touch evokes the fleeting nature of the children's antics, ephemeral in fact, only for that meeting of the Midnight Club.

 

By bringing play into the scariness of the dark, Shane Goth and Yong Ling Kang's The Midnight Club will charm many a young child to new perspectives on their own homes and spur on imaginative play, whether in the night or the day.