The Dark

Author: Lemony Snicket

Illustrator: Jon Klassen

Little, Brown and Company

Copyright 2013

19 Pages

Picture book

                I picked this book because a fear of the dark is common in many children. I thought this book may lighten that fear for my students. In the story, Laszlo shares his house with the dark. It tells us about all the places the dark stays during the day and how it comes out at night. When the dark gets Laszlo out of bed one night to show him something, we find that in the end, the dark was not so scary after all.

                The illustrations are very simple in and there is a lot of empty space which is black to depict the darkness. I love at the end when there is the pop of yellow to signify the light. The cool light colors of the house and everything else contrasts nicely with the dark space and makes the personification of the dark that much more prevalent making the dark a character of its own.

                This book would be appropriate for younger grades. I think that maybe around Halloween time it would be a good story to read. It shows how the dark can be seen as a friend rather than something frightening.It could teach the difference between day and night and you could do a writing topic on what the students think the dark does during the day. To look at it from a scientific view, it could also lead to a discussion about electricity and light bulbs as well. This book does not have any awards.