#715 of 1001 · July 16, 2022

Fear of the dark is quite common in childhood. Sometimes, though, all it takes to overcome a long-held fear is to look at things from a new viewpoint. To that end, here is Switch On the Night by Ray Bradbury and Leo and Diane Dillon. A young boy afraid of the dark spends his time in the illuminated rooms of his home, even going as far as keeping the light on in his room at bedtime. One night, when he has all the lights turned on in the entire house, he hears a knocking from outside. There stands a girl named Dark who promises to introduce the boy to the Night. She teaches him about all the things that can only be perceived when the lights switches are flicked off: frogs, crickets, stars, and the moon. From then on, the boy is pleased to take part in the daily ritual of switching on the night. Bradbury’s lyrical writing underscores the poignancy of the gentle story, while married collaborators the Dillons emphasize the tale’s subtly cosmic nature with Escher-inspired illustrations that play with perspective and dimensionality. #switch #night #boy #house #light #dark #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbook #beautifulbooks #beautifulbookcovers #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks