Funsten, Gail (McCoy-Hager)

The Grandest Night Show Funsten, Gail (McCoy-Hager)

The portrayal of a simpler life and timeless appreciation of nature are poetically knitted together in The Grandest Night Show.

Papa tells his daughter that every day in the summer there's a night show. You just have to sit still long enough to watch it. She loves the night sounds in the hollow and can recognize each one. She hears the crickets and the whippoorwill and can answer the call of the night owl. She dances like a ballerina as she catches lightning bugs. She catches little magical lights until the inside of her jar dances like a night show.

She has never seen a sunset because the hollow where she lives is surrounded by the Appalachian Mountains. She pleads with Papa to take her to the top of the mountain so she can see a sunset. Papa tells her that tomorrow night, they will see a night show at the top of the mountain.

The next day she walks with Mama and Papa along a winding trail. Their faces are laced with sunlight and shadow. They drink cold water as it runs over a cliff, pick wildflowers, and keep an eye out for ginseng. When they reach their destination, they prepare a campfire and a place to sleep. They sit down in their front row seats and prepare to watch the grandest night show from the top of the mountain.