In the Dark
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
With striking illustrations that will make your soul fly and spare text that will make your heart dance, this lyrical picturebook encourages us to set aside our snap judgements and quiet our fears of the unknown by shining light on what has been kept in the dark.
They came in the dark,
and took the narrow path
that only witches used.
Everyone said that’s what they were . . .
But what if everyone was wrong? Watch what happens when one girl steps into the woods and gets to know these newcomers. The spooky black cat? Meet Mingus! The broomsticks and cloaks? Cloth and wooden handles. And those shadows in the sky? Handmade kites, fluttering in the breeze.
When the breeze becomes a blustery storm, everything changes...including first impressions.
Told from two perspectives, here is a gentle and timely reminder that all it takes to bridge the gap of misunderstanding and fear between people is an open and willing heart.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Via a perspective-oriented picture book that's printed to flip vertically, the creators delicately explore a community divided. On upper pages, Hoefler's conversational text introduces a woods, and figures within, as they're seen by members of an external community ("They came in the dark and took the narrow path that only witches used. Everyone said that's what they were"). Glimpses of action unfolding within the forest, meanwhile, are rendered on bottom pages, narrated by a pale-skinned child who's part of the group being whispered about ("It was a woods full of birds"). Inky multimedia images by Luyken offer a limited view into the woodland, where greens, purples, and yellows hint at the true occurrences taking place. Slowly, readers come to understand the alternate meaning behind the broom-like objects transported, the nighttime bonfire, and the "dark shapes flying over the ridge," whose silhouettes resemble those of Halloween witches. With genuine emotion, the creators cleverly portray both the split community, and the whisperers' remorse when they learn they are mistaken. Human figures are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 3–7.
