ABOUT THIS BOOK: THE DARK
by Lemony Snicket
“The voice of the dark was as creaky as the roof of the house, as smooth and cold as the windows..…”
Lemony Snickett personifies the dark in this creative children’s book as he tackles the common childhood fear of darkness. The main character, a boy named Laszlo, lives in the house, and the dark lives in the basement. However, one night, when his night-light fails, the dark comes to Laszlo’s room. The dark helps Laszlo overcome his fear of darkness, and Laszlo stops being afraid.
The simple text by Lemony Snickett is greatly enhanced by the clever illustrations of Jon Klassen (2013 Caldecott winner for This Is Not My Hat, a previous Practickle selection). Mr. Klassen uses a light beam to cut into the inky black space to reveal little bits of detail in an otherwise empty house, empty of the usual trappings of a home, including other members of Laszlo’s family. Laszlo’s words are in the light beam. The dark’s words are in the darkness.
According to Mr. Snickett, the pairing of award winners, Lemony Snickett and Jon Klassen, came about because: “In this case, I saw an image that Mr. Klassen, the illustrator, Jon Klassen, did. I just saw a random image he had done of a little boy standing at the top of stairs that led into a dark basement, and he had a few words there, and I immediately could see the entire book.”
As I read the book, I wondered, “Aren’t some adults still uncomfortable in the dark (a nice way of saying ‘still afraid’)?”I know that I am. Mr. Snicket tackles this head on, “I think books that are meant to be read in the nighttime ought to confront the very fears that we’re trying to think about. And I think that a young reader of The Dark will encounter a story about a boy who makes new peace with a fear, rather than a story that ignores whatever troubles are lurking in the corners of our minds when we go to sleep.”
The Reading Comprehension Best Practice to use with The Dark is SUMMARIZING. As your child shares how Laszlo overcomes his fear of the dark, he will put it into summary form in the Third Reading.