In the Dark
by Kate Hoefler (Author) Corinna Luyken (Illustrator)
With striking illustrations that will make your soul fly and spare text that will make your heart dance, this lyrical picture book 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.
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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. (Aug.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.Review quotes
Kate Hoefler is the author of Real Cowboys, Great Big Things, and Rabbit and the Motorbike. She loves feeling connected to people (and to dogs), and also loves how being notice-ers in books helps us to be notice-ers in the world. She makes her home in Ohio with her two children and with a small dog not unlike the dog in this book. She is forever grateful for being able to walk this story home with Corinna.
Corinna Luyken is the award-winning author-illustrator of The Book of Mistakes and the New York Times best-selling My Heart. She also illustrated Adrian Simcox Does NOT Have A Horse, written by Marcy Campbell. She lives in Olympia, Washington, with her husband, daughter, and two cats. You can see more of her work at www.corinnaluyken.comJUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV003000 - Juvenile Fiction | Art & Architecture
Toleration
Perspective
