Monday, September 12, 2016

Review: Scared of the Dark by Caroline L. Thornton



SCARED OF THE DARK
by Caroline L. Thornton
Picture Book
ages 4+
40 pages

Shadows dance on your wall
Curtains flap in the breeze
Floorboards squeak in the hall
The wind whips through the trees

The dark can be scary, especially when you don't know what you're afraid of. But you're not alone, most of us have felt scared at night and the dark's not actually so bad. Discover some of the reasons for our fear, meet friendly animals who play in the night and learn to think of the dark in a new way. Oh and just in case some monsters are real...you'll be reminded that you're braver than you may think!
 



MY TIDBITS

Through rhyme and lovely illustrations, this book takes young readers' fear of the dark and shows that all those things which go bump in the night might not be quite as scary as they seem.

The minute the first page is opened, it's clear that this is a book created from the heart. The four line rhymes on each page are for the most part beautifully written, bringing the words to life in a way young readers can identify with. This book takes the fear of the dark seriously and then, with logical explanation, shows that there's nothing really scary about the dark after all. The reasoning is a little different than often seen in children books; it's very down to earth, logical, and, for the most part, easy to understand. All the while, this book never talks down to the kids or makes their fears seem silly. 

The illustrations are a treat. The author has chosen scenes from various time periods, styles and cultures, giving the book a wonderful flare of diversity. There's nothing creepy in these pages, but rather a warmth of security and understanding. The illustrations are a joy to glance through all on their own--a bit like an art gallery--and invite the reader to gaze through them again and again. If they were a little bigger, they'd be even easier to enjoy.

Summed up, this is a lovely picture book with lots of warmth and understanding. Although it can't erase the fear of the dark completely, it offers some great thoughts and might help kids understand their fear just a little bit better than before. 


1 comment:

cleemckenzie said...

Very interesting to address these nighttime fears with rhyme.