Mary Morel’s Night of the Deer (9781534112865, $18.99) enjoys brooding, evocative illustrations by Mira Miroslavova as it provides a folktale about a pair of deer whom Arabella invites to her school’s autumn dance. The problem is: they may not actually be deer, but otherworldly figures. The illustrations may be dark in color but they are vivid in detail and whimsy as a dance atmosphere evolves some surprises and reflections that challenge conventional thinking about mysteries and haunting possibilities.

Mary Morel has written a delightful modern-day fairy tale. Here, the text, rich with descriptive language, is more extensive than in most picture books, making it a wonderful choice when time permits savoring a longer story. Furthermore, Mira Miroslavova’s illustrations in dark, muted tones have a distinctive Old World charm that truly complements the magical quality of the story. Just don’t be surprised when little listeners begin watching for their own magical deer.

A child’s connection to the natural world results in an enchanted night.On the drive to school, Arabella’s parents, after spotting a stag and a doe in a cornfield, repeat the stories they were once told by their grandparents. Mama and Papa note that deer can be “tricksters,” taking human shape to mingle with people. Later, Arabella impulsively invites the wild couple to the harvest dance, which the students are excitedly getting ready for. The deer just stare, but at the dance, a “lovely pair” of graceful strangers appear. Parents and children admire and wonder as the couple waltz. As they leave, they offer Arabella (and readers) a clue to their amazing secret. Preparing us for the spell ahead, Morel’s prose animates the setting: Autumn “trotted into the valley on frosty hooves”; “apples blushed red.” Her language is both poetic and deeply rooted in the real world of farm and forest: The deer’s coats are “the color of ash and earth; their ears, the shade of cow’s cream.” The farmyard setting is traditional, but refreshingly, Papa makes dinner while Arabella and Mama do the barn chores. Slightly stylized illustrations emphasize the tale’s timelessness: Some characters sport more modern clothes, while others look fairly old-fashioned. Miroslavova employs soft-edged lines drawn in muted, earthy colors; everything is autumnal. This unusual fall-themed book will attract both rural and urban romantics. Most characters are pale-skinned. Imagination and the magic of community togetherness join hands. (Picture book. 6-9)

Morel and Miroslavova lend a fairy-tale-like air to a pastoral story, which hinges on the fleeting moments when autumn sits just on the cusp of winter. Crisp, careful lines set the scene as “autumn trotted into the valley on frosty hooves,” and a pale-skinned family drive through harvest-ready farmland. Encountering two deer, the parents share familial lore suggesting that the animals can “disguise themselves as people and walk among us.” Later, spotting the same cervid duo, the child invites them to attend that evening’s harvest dance. Predictably, but no less entrancingly, two mysterious guests in old-fashioned attire briefly appear on the floor, their steps “as delicate as the last leaves of autumn slipping into the wind.” They depart before anyone can unravel their identities—except perhaps for the knowing child protagonist. Earthy-hued depictions of figures dressed in mid-20th-century fashions and references to rural chores give the book a quaint throwback feel that emphasizes the tale’s mythic qualities. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 6–7. (Aug.)