The Dark

The Dark by Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by Jon Klassen
Published by Little, Brown and Company
2013
Shelf: Picture Book

Opening Line: "Laszlo was afraid of the dark."

Favorite Quote: "You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you. That's why the dark is always close by."

Blurb:
Laszlo is a little boy, wearing blue footie pajamas, living in a large home where the dark hides in the basement.  He's afraid of the dark but the dark has never come to visit him upstairs in his bedroom, that is until his night-light burns out.  When the one thing Laszlo is afraid of is also the thing that holds the key to ending his fears, will he be brave enough to go down to the basement and face the dark?   

Within its lines:
Lemony Snicket has crafted a wonderful story of a boy dealing with one of the most common childhood fears: the dark.  But this dark, talks to Lazslo and guides him through creaky old hallways, down empty rooms, all the way down to the basement where it offers him the solution to his fear: a new light bulb.

The way the text is placed around the pages is quite remarkable.  Whenever Laszo speaks, his words appear in the areas of the page where the light sips in. And when the dark speaks, his words are, well, in the dark.

Let go back to this whole, "when the dark speaks" we just mentioned.  This is a fantastic book to introduce kids to the concept of personification.  Dark takes on its own persona in this book and the reader can't help but connect with it and befriend it.

The illustrations in sepia tones and inky darks by Klassen are a perfect match. And the lack of any sort of furniture or evidence of any other person living with Laszlo, that emptiness, really adds to the feeling of fear and loneliness that sets up the scene for this wonderful picture book.

Shelf it!
Yes! Shelf it! We don't get tired of reading The Dark.  Share it with a kid who's afraid of the dark, with one who loves the dark, with one who loves creepy stories, with one who loves sweet ending...Just share it!!