When the lights go out one night during a thunderstorm, little Roger, clad in Godzilla pajamas, huddles under a blanket with his great aunt (environmentalist Rachel Carson), trying to cover his fear with bravado. His patient aunt suggests a late-night walk after the storm is over, and the two make their way by lantern light through the forest, down to the sea. All the while, Roger, the self-described monster, stomps, roars, and crushes in an attempt to appear brave. But once they reach the sea, he is taken with the ocean's bioluminescence, which Rachel quietly points out to him, and then helps his aunt rescue a struggling firefly caught in the water. The fictionalized story combines two life events Carson described in her writing, and shows how a child's sense of wonder must sometimes be nurtured when nature has presented itself as something scary. The prose crackles with descriptive language that appeals to all five senses, and Miyares' expressive, stormy illustrations heighten the sense of the storm and the wonder. (Ages 4-7)