The Dark

Bought this story for my 3 year old who sometimes gets frightened during the night and will come to tell me and her dad that she is scared of the dark and of the monsters. We rectified the monsters problem by using lavender spray as a 'monster repellent' and we gave her a starry night light, we stumbled across this book and were excited about it as we're fans of Lemony Snicket!At first, the dark appears as spooky in the book, my daughter asked lots of questions while I read it! We eventually learned what happened as we finished the book and it turned out to be very heart warming and nice, which my daughter enjoyed. There is another book i'd like to get called 'The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark' which I have read to classes of children, it would couple nicely with The Dark story!

If you're looking for a picture book that's a step on from a bland Peppa Pig or yet another nursery rhyme then this is a good choice.It's also a good option if you want something to read to mixed ages. We have a 7 year old and 3 year old and this book had the big advantage of being something I could read to them both at the same time without one or other getting bored.However, I was expecting a book that brought together pretty much the best children's author around at the moment (Snicket) with the wittiest and most subversive illustrator (Klassen) to deliver a little more. We adored Snicket's novels and I personally think Klassen's This Is Not My Hat is up there with Dickens in terms of characterisation and story telling. Yet somehow their combined spark didn't quite produce the electricity I was expecting.

Oh wow! My 8yo is not afraid of the dark anymore. Tip: read the book, and at the end present your child with a new night light as though its a present from the character (the dark) in the story. Even if they already have a night light - just get them another one and you'll see what I mean once you've read the story together.

Thought I'd made a right mistake with this purchase. Did t read it first when reading it to my three year old son at bedtime, half way through I was scared! Thankfully, it cheers up quite a bit, sorry for spoiler but it is a kids book after all! A great read, for both of us!

I like this. I'll give it an extra half star here... I like the art work and the layout. The 7 year-olds definitely enjoyed it. But as a book for a book-talk session, it inspired us less than others.