#280 of 1001 · May 7, 2021

Fear of the dark gives way to thoughtful understanding in The Dark, written by @authordanielhandler (under his well-known pen name Lemony Snicket) and illustrated by @jonklassen. Laszlo has an uneasy peace with the dark, which seems to occupy his house as a sentient force. He greets it from the top of the basement steps every morning, hoping against hope that it will stay below. One night, however, the dark creeps up into Laszlo’s room and speaks to him, beckoning him down the stairs and into the basement. What does it want? A helpful discovery soon brings on the realization that Laszlo’s fears may have been misplaced, that the dark might not be such a sinister presence after all. Snicket applies his trademark authorial sensibility, dry and understated wit peeking out from behind a mask of grim austerity. Klassen’s illustrations, a combination of gouache paintings and digital technique, convey an aura of mystery. No parents, siblings, or other characters of any kind appear—if Laszlo has any human company in the house, we do not see it. The dark is never fully anthropomorphized, never rendered as a discrete entity. Rather, the intentional placement of text on large patches of black imply that the dark is everywhere at once and nowhere at all. #dark #darkness #night #light #fear #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcover #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks