The Dark

The Dark by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Jon Klassen, is Laszlo's story of how he stops being afraid of the dark.

Klassen's illustrations are subtle, yet represent the darkness, and the light created by a flashlight, in a very realistic manner. Klassen clearly focuses the reader's attention

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exactly where it should be. I really like how Laszlo's slightly fearful look never changes until after he is helped by the dark.

Snicket does anthropomorphize the dark a bit when he says that it hid, sat and waited. His repetition of small phrases is effective. The large bit of text in the middle, brilliantly discussed by GR and SLJ blogger Betsy Bird, is an interesting choice, that could slow down the story a little, and could require shortening or skipping by some of those who read it aloud to young listeners.

This is a book that requires re-reading before one reads it aloud to children, to determine what kind of voice to give the dark. Such effort should be well worth such time and attention. It's a unique collaboration that should calm fears of the dark for a great number of children. The Dark is highly recommended for school and public library collections. 4.5 stars. For preschoolers to grade 2, darkness, fear, basements, and fans of Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen.

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The Dark is scary when you are four, isn’t it? When you are eight? Even ten and twelve, sometimes.

So what is this little book about, with its scary title and its scary cover?

It’s about feeling that scariness and worrying about that scariness and about finally getting the courage to confront the

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scariness.

How could this book go wrong with an author like Lemony Snicket and an illustrator like Jon Klassen?

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The illustrations are my favorite but that does not means the story is not great. Lazlo is a boy that lives in a huge creeppy house and it happens that the dark lives in the basement. Lazlo is afraid of the dark until one day he decides to go visit her in the basement.

Lazlo is afraid of the dark, until the night he goes down into the dark, dark basement and realizes that there's nothing sinister or at all scary hiding in the shadows.

Beautiful pictures accompany a beautifully simple storyline about how a little boy finds the courage to face his fear and in the

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process realizes that there isn't anything to be afraid of.

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I first saw this book displayed in a local book shop right before I was to guest teach a youth writing class (8-12 years). I was teaching horror writing; you know, zombies, vampires -- fun imaginative stuff like that. But the focus of my subject for the kids was to be environment, and how when

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writing horror fiction, environment is just as important as character, even in the sense that it really IS a character. Anyway, this children's book absolutely put me in the right mindset for the class. The story is the basic premise of a child being afraid of the dark and how he addresses the fear. The prose is written in that deadpan, Snicket way and illustrated masterfully by Jon Klassen (I want my hat back). The line delivery and art meet in such a way that the fun scary moments are deliciously unsettling if you want them to be. For an adult to read the story, it is a rejuvenating diversion to be in the same fearful boat as Laszlo, and be a part of his journey to overcome it. The use of "dark" in the illustrations and as a character in the story is scary, humourous and even beautiful. A joy to read.

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This was actually kind of scary until the part where it became not scary -- and we learned that the dark isn't so bad.

Wow. This is a beautifully illustrated, perfect book about bravery, courage, problem solving and the innate fear that humans have of the dark.
The depiction of "the dark" as an entity that lives and moves speaks to the vivid sense that most children and many adults have of the dark being not just

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the absence of light, but a presence in it's own right.
It shows a young child using communication, resourcefulness and sheer courage to overcome his specific problem, and move beyond his fear.
Gorgeous illustrations by Jon Klassen, wonderful layout, nice thick paper, a cozy size... everything about this book is marvelous. Thanks Lemony for a great book.

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Explains a fear that many children have with the emotions of how they would feel in the dark, giving it a new perspective of where it is. Also shows how it is nothing to be afraid of and to be brave and face your fears.

This book could be done in readers theater with 3 voices - the narrator, the boy, and the dark. Depending on how the emotions are voiced - it could be not-so-scary to scare-the-tuna- salad outa-kids scary. Choose carefully. (NS)

By the beam of his flashlight, Laszlo explores the dark’s hiding places in his big, empty house. The dark spends most of its time in the basement, where Laszlo is afraid to enter. His fear of the dark comes to a head one night when his night light goes out, and he hears the voice of the dark in

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his room. It turns out that the dark is not as scary as Laszlo thought, and it even helps Laszlo find a new bulb for his nightlight. Lemony Snicket’s clever personification of the dark will help children realize that “without the dark, everything would be light.” Striking contrasts between pure black and bright, sepia-toned gouache illustrations by Jon Klassen underscore this theme. Recipient of Charlotte Zolotow Award for outstanding picture book writing and New York Times Best Illustrated award. An excellent choice to address the common fear of the dark. Without patronizing, the unique approach of this book encourages children to consider the important role that the dark plays in their daily lives. Highly Recommended. Ages 3-7.

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Snicket and Klassen are a perfect match in this brilliantly written and illustrated story about a young boy embracing his fear.

In this picture book from acclaimed author Lemony Snicket, a boy named Laszlo is afraid of the dark. To him, the dark is personified as a dresser in the basement. Laszlo visits the basement during the day hoping that by being nice to the dark, it will not come visiting him in his bedroom at night.

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Although this doesn't work as plan, Laszlo and the dark eventually come to terms with one another.

I loved a lot of Lemony Snicket's previous works and this was certainly a decent addition to his oeuvre. There is one page that is a bit overly didactic, but the rest reads like a well-oiled narrative that also happens to help allay a common childhood fear. The illustrations by Jon Klassen are particularly well done, and I enjoy the way he plays with light and shadows in the book's drawings. This book would be a good addition in a home or classroom when talking about a child's fear of the dark and/or simply for a discussion on light and shadows or daytime and nighttime.

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I like the pictures. They set a very dark mood (no pun intended). Little patches of light surrounding only the little boy. The pictures, in this case, are better than the story. I like the idea of the dark being a scary thing, until the little boy gets to know him. But I don't love it as much as I

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want to. And I do want to think Lemony Snicket is a genius.

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Mentioned as a possible 2014 Caldecott winner, even though it did not garner an award, this book is well worth that honor.

Like most young boys and girls, the dark is a fearful enemy, working against you to the sound of the slow tick, tick, tock, tock, of the bedroom clock. As covers are pulled over

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the head and each sound seems like a scratching creeper, Laslo is no stranger to the sweaty sickness of the dark that waits in the corners to invade his space.

Knowing that the dark resides in the basement by day, waiting to creepy crawl up the bedroom stairs, Laslo tries to conquer his fears of this very real being. As Laslo communicates with the dark, he is shown a cabinet where, on the bottom drawer, there are light bulbs.

Now, no longer afraid, Laslo makes a friend of the dark and it never bothered him again!

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Genre: Fiction
Audience: Pre k-3
This is a great book about how Lazlo conquers his fear of darkness. This is a wonderful book for children of all ages, especially ones who are afraid of the dark. The illustrations are also very good.

In this book by Lemony Snicket, the dark takes on human characteristics when he speaks to a young boy named Lazlo. Lazlo is afraid of the dark, but in this story, he learns to become friends with it, after the dark lures him into the basement so that he can get a replacement bulb for his

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nightlight.

I loved the language that Snicket used to make the story seem eerie and creepy, but also to cast light (pun intended) on darkness. I love the way that the darkness was illustrated, and how the flashlight came into play. I think it would be a great book to read to young students to address this type of fear. Also, John Klassen is my favorite children's illustrator.

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I don't really know what to think of this book. It was very well written. I think it does send a really good message out to kids in the end about why they shouldn't be afraid of the dark, but this is only after an extremely creepy story about the dark calling you to it and taking over your house.

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It is very Lemony Snicket, but not something I would necessarily recommend for most younger children. I think everyone is afraid of the dark at times, but I don't see this book being effective for most small children.

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At first glance, the book seems a little too dark for younger readers. The audience should be chosen carefully, but this book brings a very relevant fear/issue for children to light (pun intended). The Dark begins speaking to Laszlo when his night light burns out. It convinces him to go down to the

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scariest part of the house, the basement, and face his fears. While down there, Laszlo learns an important lesson that sometimes scary things are actually important, and not something to be afraid of at all. The creaky roof keeps you from getting rained on. the cold windows let you see outside, and the dark makes it so not everything is light. Snicket chooses his words so well in this story, and the illustrations are just as poetic as the words. Young readers might not understand how beautifully written this story is, but they will understand that Laszlo is no longer afraid.

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The dark is a very interesting thing. There’s a lot of it when the light is off, as young Laszlo finds out when his night light bulb fails. Then the dark comes into his room. Prior to this event, the dark lived quite happily in (unsurprisingly) dark places such as the basement, drawers that no

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one ever opened, and occasionally behind the shower curtains. At night the dark had a huge expanse to roam outside the creaky old house where they both lived. Laszlo and the dark respected each other’s space. The dark knew Laszlo and Laszlo knew the dark—in fact they even greeted each other. Well, the dark didn’t actually answer back. It never spoke until one fateful night when the bulb in Laszlo’s night light fails. The dark calls to Laszlo. Then Laszlo gets out of bed and answers the dark, which leads him all the way down to the basement…

This deceptively simple illustrated story is especially relevant for kids who are afraid of the dark. Who can say they didn’t fear something that lived under the bed, behind the door (no, that was never an old dressing gown!), or at the bottom of the stairs? This book depicts the dark and the fears of a little boy who has to learn that everything has its designated place and purpose. Without the dark there is no light. Without the night there is no day. Without the dark we would never see the moon and the stars. Without all the things in Laszlo’s house, providing hiding places for the dark, there would be no dark. And the dark is a necessary part of life. The size of the book, 11x7.1 inches is actually the perfect size for little hands to grasp. In addition, the dark looks very big (there’s a lot of it, as I said) while Laszlo looks very small, creating a huge contrast between them. The story has mystery, shivers, scary bits, and leads the young reader all the way down to the basement, where the dark turns out to be very helpful indeed. I’d recommend this for all young readers and their parents (who might still be afraid of the dark). It is a charming tale by the inimitable Lemony Snickett, beautifully illustrated by Jon Klassen. Five stars.

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This book takes the fear of the dark and confronts it head on. The message is that it is necessary for the dark to exist in order for there to be light, and that the dark is not afraid of us, which is why it never leaves. At the end, it is shown that child and dark can live together in harmony,

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without any conflict or fear. A very good book for anyone that has a fear of the dark and the unknown that it represents.

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This is a great story for Halloween season. I had a great time reading this and so did the student I'm tutoring. This book started a great discussion between us. It was clear he loved the book. I highly recommend this book for a classroom and its a great bedtime story too!

"The Dark" is a story of Laszlo who is afraid of the dark. But one night, the dark visits him in his room when his light bulb goes out. Laszlo follows the dark as he tries to find out what it wants to show him. I really loved this book. The illustrations make the reader feel like they are taking

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the journey with Laszlo. In the illustrations, the light is only placed where Laszlo has his flashlight pointing and the surrounding area is completely dark. This is exactly how Laszlo would see the house, so it really allows the reader to feel as if they are there in the story as well. Also, I loved the way the author used personification by giving "the dark" human like traits. For example, the dark could talk and visit Laszlo. In the story, "the dark" calls Laszlo's name and tells him "I want to show you something." The story ends as the dark leads Laszlo to the basement, bottom drawer where the light bulbs are stored. Laszlo realizes that the dark was only trying to help and begins to let go of his fear of the dark. The big idea is to teach the reader not to be scared of the dark and to overcome their fears.

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The Dark is a story about a boy named Laszlo meeting the personification of the dark. Laszo begins the story very afraid of the dark and the dark leads him to concur his fear by showing him that the dark is not evil or bad. Laszo steps out of his comfort zone many times and thus having a journey of

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discovery of fears. This book has a great theme and had a great message on concurring your fears. Lemony Snicket's descriptive writing paired with Jon Klassen's beautiful illustration comes together to create an awesome book.

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Creepy vibe in the beginning withe description of the dark and the places it hangs out. I wanted to scream, "No! Don't go in the basement!" But I'm glad Laszlo did. Teachers: great example of personification (of the dark) and tone.