Do You Know the Dark?
Exploring the Unseen, Unknown, and Unusual
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected May 12, 2026
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- $10.99
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- Pre-Order
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
"A mesmerizing invitation to embrace night’s beauty—great for bedtime shelves and budding naturalists alike." —Kirkus, starred review
"Opens the door to meaningful parent-child conversations about fear, curiosity, and the beauty of the unknown." —Booklist
From the author of More Than Words and Together, a Forest comes a breathtaking new picture book, perfect for bedtime, about the wonders of the dark.
When the lights are out, the world transforms into shadows and endless night sky. We go from seeing what is around us to uncertainty. It's natural to feel nervous or scared, but the dark holds so many discoveries, if we only know where to look.
Within cocoons, caterpillars become moths. Bears rest in dens, waiting for warmer months. Sea creatures swim in depths that the light never touches. Beyond the stars, in the unexplored expanse of the universe, mystery and wonder call to us.
In accessible, lyrical text, Do You Know the Dark? offers new ways to think about the unknowns of darkness, appreciating its gifts of rest, regeneration, and possibility. Beyond what we can perceive in the daylight, could there be beauty we had never thought to imagine?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
MacLean paints darkness as mysterious and magical for a wondrous deep dive into the topic. An opening question sets the tone ("Do you know the dark?") before leading into brief probing lines that begin with a repeated intonation: "In the dark,/ roots grow, soil is churned,/ and seeds prepare to sprout." Alongside lyrical prose, acrylic gouache, acrylic ink, crayon, and digital illustrations offer blacklight-esque renderings of habitats including a creature-filled forest, a hibernating bear's den, and the deep ocean. Gradually, storytelling shifts from snapshots of darkness to human activities, showcasing figures interacting with bioluminescence, playing hide-and-seek, and enjoying a planetarium film. "In the dark,/ imagination blooms.../ and dreams come to visit," suggests atmospheric text, aptly highlighting a sense of possibility. Capturing something of the universe's enigmatic magnificence, this brightly imagined work illuminates the most dimly lit environments. Ages 4–8.
