Dianne White: Hello, I'm Dianne White, the author of Dark on Light, brilliantly illustrated by Felicita Sala. When I visit schools, I tell kids that all my books are inspired by everyday things that happen as I'm out and about living my life. Often, it's as ordinary as something I've overheard or seen. In the case of Dark on Light, it was that and more. I had been visiting a school in Tucson and talking, like I always do, about where stories hide. I had shared the cover of an upcoming book, Green on Green, and mentioned that I had been wondering if there might be a third idea that could be a companion to Green on Green and my first book, Blue on Blue.

After I finished my presentation, a boy came up to speak to me. "Mrs. White," he said, "I know the title of your next book," "What?" I asked, secretly hoping he wasn't going to suggest Yellow on Yellow or another color on color title. "Dark on Light," he said. As soon as he spoke the words, I knew this was a book I had to write. The Moon Jumpers, an old favorite by Janice May Udry, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, immediately sprung to mind, and I knew the concept I wanted to explore would be Dusk to Dawn. I wrote the boy's name on a small scrap of paper, and promised to dedicate the book to him if it sold.

In order to build on the pattern of the previous books, I began to think about the colors found in that space of time between the setting and rising of the sun; a rose horizon and orange moon, the silver path, and so the puzzle of finding and putting words together began. Similar to Green on Green, I decided on a pattern of two couplets. The first would include a color word, and name two things that could be woven into the last line of the second couplet, which would end with the words "dark on light." Once I had the pattern, the rest of the poem came together. When it was time to write the dedication, unfortunately, the small scrap of paper with the young boy's name had long since disappeared.

Now, the dedication reads, "To librarian Karen Devino and the students and teachers of Twin Peaks Elementary, and most especially to the young boy who suggested my next book should be Dark on Light."

I'm happy to share the first few pages of Dark on Light.

Gentle the evening. Sweeping the skies. Dark the shadows as twilight arrives. Rose the horizon, gleaming and bright. Twilight and evening and dark on light. Smooth the stones. Crisp the air. Dark the garden, trimmed with care. Green the sage, nubby and bright. Garden and stones and dark on light.