Every spring in the eastern region of the United States, warmer nights with steady rain bring the migration of thousands of spotted salamanders to ponds and pools, often across busy roads. These crossings are magical, and secretive--most people don't even know they happen. Salamander Sky features a mother and daughter who go out on a rainy night to help the salamanders cross the road safely. This dramatic, full-color, picture book introduces readers to the elusive spotted salamanders and the perilous nighttime journey they take each spring. Amphibians worldwide desperately need protection. This award-winning book is a valuable tool for getting children engaged in conservation. The spring salamander migration, the beginning of breeding season, seen through the eyes of a young enthusiast. Having waited for just the right conditions, a young girl and her mother go out into a rainy evening to search for salamanders attempting to cross busy roads. The story of amphibian migration, when frogs and salamanders leave their winter burrows and return to the wetlands and ponds where they were born to lay eggs for another generation, has been told several times in sweet stories of ecologically conscious children and their parents. In a relatively simple text set out in short lines, the protagonist relates facts about salamanders she has learned from her mother, "the scientist"; her anticipation; and her satisfying experience. The text has the look but not the sound of poetry, with some awkward word choices. But it's a quiet, patient story, beautifully reflected in Sodano's paintings, which are done with colored inks, crayon, water-soluble pencils, and digital techniques. These show a black-haired, olive-skinned child and her diverse classmates, salamanders at varying life stages, and the early-spring woodland world near her home. There's a map showing that spotted salamanders (the species depicted) range broadly down the East Coast and into the Midwest. These excellent illustrations help bring the girl's expedition to life and add information, too. A lovely vehicle for sharing nature with children. (Informational picture book. 4-8) (Kirkus Reviews) Told in a soft spoken, poetic voice akin to that of Janel Yolen's Owl Moon , Salamander Sky brings wonder and anticipation in droves. Farber's text has all the great lean-in qualitites of a storied secret passed among friends in the lunch room, and Sodano's illustrations lead readers by mere flashlight and anticipation to a place of fascination. Salamander Sky has within its pages the power to ignite curiosity in the unexplored backyard while at the same time respecting and not disrupting nature's hand in the survival of species. And what could be better than that? (Matthew C. Winner, The Children's Book Podcast ) On a rainy day in early spring, I wait for my chance to be part of one of nature's most magical events -- the migration of the spotted salamanders. They face many challenges in their journey, including roads and speeding cars. It can be a perilous crossing and I want to help them. Would you come with me in search of the spotted salamanders? They are fascinating creatures that can teach us a lot about the natural world. Katy Farber is a writer, researcher and educator from Vermont. She has loved and defended salamanders since standing in a Pennsylvania creek at the age of ten. Her other book for children is a middle grade novel called The Order of the Trees, which won Green Earth Honor book award in 2015. Meg Sodano (Illustrator) grew up in Connecticut exploring the woodlands and seashore, and drawing her favorite animals. She studied natural science illustration at Rhode Island School of Design and Animal Science at the University of Vermont. While making the pictures for this book, she wandered around rain-soaked nature preserves, sketched tree roots and vernal pools, and of course, looked for amphibians.