The Dark

Product Information

You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you.” Laszlo is afraid but there’s not much he can do about it. Seems as though the dark is everywhere you look sometimes. Generally speaking it lives in the basement, and every morning Laszlo would open the door and say, “Hi . . . Hi, dark.” He wouldn’t get a reply. Then, one night, the dark does something unprecedented. It comes into Laszlo’s room and though he has a flashlight, it seems to be everywhere. It says it wants to show him something. Something in the basement. Something in the bottom drawer of an old dresser. Something that helps Laszlo just when he needs it. The dark still visits Laszlo now. It just doesn’t bother him. La mayoría de libros infantiles que tocan el tema del miedo, lo hacen de la misma forma; con imágenes coloridas, historias divertidas y que tienen como mensaje, enseñarnos que debemos ser valientes y afrontar lo que nos causa temor. Daniel and Lisa’s nine-year-old son, Otto, perhaps unsurprisingly given his genetic makeup, understood all this very early. “Before he could talk,” says Handler, “we would go for a walk and I would say: ‘If I see a tree, I’m going to go crazy,’ and he would point at a tree and I would pretend to go crazy. Or I’d say: ‘If I see a piece of gum on the sidewalk I’m going to fall on the ground,’ and he’d point at the gum. I still meet children who, when I make that kind of joke, are alarmed.” Handler affects dismay that such children exist. “Some of them are my nieces. You can’t win them all.”

With emotional insight and poetic economy, two award-winning talents team up to conquer a universal childhood fear. To enhance this book, you may talk with your students of the importance of illustrations. Illustrations play a huge part of setting the mood of a story. Light and shadow is definitely one thing that Klassen did an excellent job with. An offbeat -- and spookily atmospheric -- approach to fear of the dark, with a creative story and high-impact artwork...an enjoyable thrill." The Bulletin A young boy, Laszlo, is afraid of the dark, though it lives in his old, creaky house. While it spreads out in places such as the closet, behind the shower curtain, and across doors and windows at night, it mainly lives in the basement. In the morning, Laszlo will say hello to the dark at the basement door, hoping that if he does so the dark will not come to his room. While it might not combat fear of the dark, it's an ingenius introduction to horror movie—style catharsis, and a memorable ride on the emotional roller coaster that great storytelling creates."— Publishers Weekly, starred reviewYou might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you. That's why the dark is always close by. The dark peeks around the corner and waits behind the door, and you can see the dark up in the sky almost every night, gazing down at you as you gaze up at the stars. Without a creaky roof, the rain would fall on your bed, and without a smooth, cold window, you could never see outside, and without a set of stairs, you could never go into the basement, where the dark spends its time. Without a closet, you would have nowhere to put your shoes, and without a shower curtain, you would splash water all over the bathroom, and without the dark, everything would be light, and you would never know if you needed a lightbulb.

A powerful and moving tale which will entertain and encourage others to fight their fear of the dark. -- Bury Free Press Simply told and evocatively drawn, this is an ideal book to read with young children. -- The Scotsman Readers are going to want to read this one over and over."— Library Media Connection, starred reviewLa historia es sencilla, un niño (que por cierto me encanto el nombre del protagonista) Laszlo le tiene miedo a la oscuridad, y la historia nos presenta a la oscuridad como un personaje mas, una entidad que vive en la casa con Laszlo. He eloquently reminds us what it is to be afraid of the dark and also, with Jon Klassen's simple, illuminating drawings, guarantees that readers see the light. -- The Observer

An offbeat — and spookily atmospheric — approach to fear of the dark, with a creative story and high-impact artwork...an enjoyable thrill."— The Bulletin, starred review One night, Laszlo's nightlight lamp goes out, and the dark speaks to him in a creeky, smooth and distant voice. The dark tells Laszlo that it wants to show him something, and Laszlo leaves his room with a flashlight. He looks towards the closet and shower curtain, before being told to go downstairs. He goes to the living room's largest window to look at the night, but the dark tells him to go into the basement. Though afraid, Laszlo enters the basement.

Not only is The Dark a fun story to share, but it is also full of examples of personification, primal fear, and a deep need to conquer evil. Plus, it is adorable for your older students to remember their childhood when everything was so fearful during October, especially the dark.

You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you. That’s why the dark is always close by.” You might be afraid of the dark, but the dark is not afraid of you. That's why the dark is always close by.The dark lives in the same house as Laszlo. Mostly, though, the dark stays in the basement and doesn't come into Lazslo's room. But one night, it does. In this sentence, the moon winked at the owl. Of course, the moon can’t wink because it is definitely an inanimate object. As well, clouds can’t wander. Wandering is when one walks or moves in a leisurely, casual, or aimless way. Clouds may seem like they wander, but of course they too are inanimate objects that float or travel where the wind moves them.