I’m reading Healing Night: The Science and Spirit of Sleeping, Dreaming, and Awakening. Author Rubin R. Naiman explains how the erosion of night (darkness) by artificial light is one of the things contributing to sleep disorders like insomnia. I’m one of those people who like a dimly lit room and am constantly turning off the lights my family turns on. Still there’s nothing like going camping or into the countryside away from the town lights, and observing stars, planets and meteor showers with your family.

Sometimes it’s impossible to leave the city. Instead, you may want to try sleeping on the roof like the little girl in At Night who needs the night sky to help her fall asleep. Written and illustrated by Jonathan Bean, the book will be released in late July/early August by children’s book publisher Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Two other wonderful books that deal with night come from Sylvan Dell Publishing. Influenced by Native American folktales, How The Moon Regained Her Shape deals with bullying, self-confidence, and understanding the phases of the moon. The "Creative Minds" section explains the phases of the moon and helps to answerquestions like "Why does the shape of the moon change? Moon crafts and games are also included.

Pieces Of Another World is the story of a father and child’s nighttime excursion to watch a meteor shower. The "For Creative Minds" section is loaded with information about meteors and meteor showers. While I loved the artwork in How The Moon Regained Her Shape, Pieces Of Another World struck a cord with me. I really loved how the father took his daughter on a surprise trip to share something as magical as a meteor shower. Not only is this a book about appreciating nature, but it’s about father-daughter bonding, too.

Pieces Of Another World comes with a recipe for Comet Cookies. It’s a little messy, but it sounds like a bit of delicious, educational fun.

Comet Cookies

Note: Store-bought chocolate chip cookies will work for this, but try to put some of the "space dust" on top of the cookies.

Ingredients:

1. 12-oz. package semi-sweet chocolate chips
2. 12-oz. package miniature chocolate chips
3. 12-oz. package miniature candies, such as M&Ms Mini Baking Bits
4. 18-oz. roll of chocolate chip cookie dough

Directions:

1. Mix the chocolate chips and candies in a bowl.
2. Follow the package directions to prepare the cookies for baking.
3. Press one tablespoon of candy/chip mix into the top of each cookie.
4. Bake and cool.
5. Lay one cookie on a paper plate. The cookie is the comet’s head—think of the dough as ice and the candies and chips as bits of "space dust." So what’s missing? The tail! You can make a tail with leftover candy/chip mix—about three tablespoons for each comet.
6. To model a meteor shower, set a lamp in the middle of a table to be the sun. Carefully, "orbit" your comet cookie in an ellipse—long, flat oval—around the lamp. (Watch out for the cord!) As you orbit, shake off bits of candy/chip mix, so that you leave a trail.
7. Now, set down the plate, then take an orange or small ball—the "Earth"—and roll it slowly around the lamp. A meteor shower results when the Earth passes through the comet’s trail.
8. If you scatter a spoonful of candy/chip mix around the table, you’ll see how the Earth crosses paths with a smaller number of meteorites on ordinary nights.
9. And now, for the final step – eat your comet!

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