The Dark, Dark Night

by M. Christina Butler

Woo-woo! the wind blew in the trees. Squeak-squeak! went the lanterns. And the dark was all around. After a long winter sleep, Frog can't wait to get back to his pond. But just before jumping into the water, something startles him-then sends him running back to the woods. A HUGE Pond Monster with enormous claws!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Monsters, Rabbits

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

M Christina Butler was born in Scarborough. She had an idyllic childhood in the country where she spent her weekends playing on a farm among the animals. Christina has worked as a nurse, a pre-school nursery supervisor, and a governor at her local primary school, as well as writing a number of children’s books. She now lives close to York.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Frog wakes up from his winter hibernation in this sweet picture-book from English author/illustrator team M. Christina Butler and Jane Chapman, playing with his friends and then heading to his home in the pond once it gets dark. Arriving at the water however, he finds himself confronting a terrible monster in the nearby reeds, and he rushes back to his friends. One by one, they accompany Frog back to the pond, only to spy the monster themselves. It is only when Badger accompanies the group, and mouse gets left behind with the lantern, that the truth is revealed: the animals have been frightened by their own shadows...

A lovely little reassurance story, one which makes good use of its repetitive structure to build up the tension, The Dark, Dark Night demonstrates to the young reader or listener that sometimes the things we are frightened of in the darkness aren't so fearsome after all. The accompanying artwork from Chapman, who has also illustrated Karma Wilson's popular picture-book series about Bear, is lovely, capturing the charm of these animal friends, and the mystery of the dark night around them. Attentive readers/watchers will be able to figure out what all the fuss is about, which will only add to the fun. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for sweet animal stories that offer a reassuring look at something many children find intimidating: namely, the dark.

[Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Чудовището, което се появи от сенките на животните ми припомни историята на Мечо Пух, които вървеше по следите на едно нещо, а накрая се оказа, че следите били негови и на Прасчо. Много забавна история, много сладки илюстрации и полезно четиво за малки читатели, които ги е страх от тъмното.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kuvakirjassa käsitellään pelkoja ja niiden kohtaamista. Jane Chapmanin kuvitus hurmaa jälleen!

[78sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Für Kinder ab 3 Jahren genau richtig. Die Story ist nicht zu kurz und nicht zu lang und angenehm spannend für diese Altersgruppe. Ich habe es für meinen Neffen (4 Jahre gekauft), der sehr ängstlich ist. Ich hoffe ihm gefällt das Buch und hilft ihm ein wenig. Die Story ist sehr süß. Die Tiere helfen stehen sich gegenseitig bei, aber haben Angst vor ihrem eigenen Schatten bis sie es herausfinden. Also es nimmt ein gutes Ende. Ich bin gespannt wie er darauf reagiert. Ich als Erwachsene schätze es als sehr empfehlenswert ein.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story with great illustrations. My five-year-old thought it was very funny and liked being in on the secret.

[Liselotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

[edition read: Dutch]
This was such a cute little picture book! I got this as a gift for my birthday by a friend and she couldn't have picked a better one. The story is really cute, has amazing illustrations and the repetition in this book is great for kids, it makes it a really fun book to read to a kid. A cute way to learn that the dark, and especially shadows, aren't scary!

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute story with great illustrations - kids will get a giggle out of knowing what's going on, plus there are lessons about shadows, asking for help when you're scared, facing down fears, and more.
Well done!

[Kristin Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the right amount of repetition. In this case, it adds both familiarity and suspense to the story. A perfect read-aloud. The kids LOVE being in on the secret and they delight in the reveal at the end.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not bad, good opportunity for noises and very accessible, but a little repetitive for my tastes.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adorable. Kids will love that they know better than the animals and it helps adults have a way to remind the children that shadows are only shadows.

[Sarah Lu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about the dark.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my Year 2 class during there library session.
They absolutely loved it.
It had a great ending and good pictures.

[Yanitsa Georgieva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Забавна история, красиви илюстрации. Чудесна, ако детето се страхува от тъмното. Препоръчвам!

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is too exciting for a bedtime story!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Darling illustrations paired with a simple, but enjoyable story.

[Jeani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfect for littles and learning about environments/habitats.

[JoAnna Hoeppner · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my kids favorite bedtime stories when they were little. My 15 yo daughter just came to find it to use for a storytelling in drama class.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story to read with children that may have anxiety issues. These animals are so scared and keep building up what shadows they see until they believe a giant monster is about to get them, and all it is is a tiny mouse.

What a great way to open up a discussion with children about how they can take little worries they have and make them into giant worries!!!!

K-2 would be a perfect audience!

[Andrew Stockle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Dark Dark Night is a tale about four fury friends, one frog, and their wild adventures in the dark as they flee from the swamp monster (which the reader later finds out is just the animal shadows). The pictures are amazing and appear almost realistic in the way they are painted. This book teaches the message of friends sticking together in the buddy system while also teaching that things are not always as they appear. In teaching I might use this book to explain shadows. Age range 4-8.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Younger toddlers can certainly enjoy this book with familiar characters, good reptition and opportunities for sound effects as the wind blows and their lanterns squeak, but may not understand or appreciate the plot twist through which the characters discover that the monster they feared was really their own shadows.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

They are afraid of their own shadows. I had to spend some time with Son (3) looking at each shadow and understanding which animal the parts come from. Also, I skipped the scary descriptions of the "monster" and lightened anything else designed to make it scary. Then we went to watch Peep and the Big Wide World - Shadow episode!

[carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upon awakening from his long winter's nap, Frog spends a happy day playing with his friends but when he reaches his pond after dark, he sees a huge pond monster and needs his friends' help to face it.

[Kelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Age: Preschool-2nd grade

What's that scary shadow in the dark? Each animal adds its own scary aspect to the shadow as they step into the light of their lantern. Good scary tale for a young audience that knows the secret behind the mysterious shadow.

[Sandi Roe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frog is excited that winter is over and he can return to his pond, but is frightened of what he sees in the dark. After each friend he tells, they go back to the pond. It is a great book to introduce shadows to children.

[Athena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about fake monsters and so it's a little too scary for me right now. But I think it might be a better book when I'm a lot older. But I still like it because it has a frog in it and I really like frogs.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little longer story, but could work for a storytime for the older ones.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great reminder to kids that things are usually not as scary as they seem in the dark.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures. Story is nice.

[Racquel McDonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fabulous! My son and I read it all the time, we even have accents for the characters which makes it more fun. Favourite Character Doormouse Cooo Weee!

[Sarah May · Rating 4 out of 5]

See my blog for a detailed review! http://littlebooksontheprairie.wordpr...