The Boy and the Fireflies

On warm summer nights, Sam likes to sit on his back steps and watch the sky fill with tiny twinkling lights. The fireflies blinking over the grass mean more to him than anything, so he draws one on his blue T-shirt with a yellow marker and clips a small flashlight to his belt, ready for adventure. Then one evening he notices that only three fireflies shine where hundreds used to be, and worry fills his big brown eyes.

Sam runs to the kitchen to tell his mom, and together they look for answers about what has changed. They learn that bright artificial lights confuse nighttime insects and make it hard for fireflies to find mates and food. Sam decides to start a dark-sky awareness project, making a poster with a big firefly and asking people to turn off extra lights at night. This gentle tale by Çınar BİBER follows his talks with neighbors and his patience as he waits to see what happens, and it can be read on Masalcı Baba.