The Dark

By Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by Jon Klassen

This is the story of a boy who is afraid of the dark. But the dark lives with Laszlo. Most of the time, the dark spent its time in the basement. But at night, the dark would come out, all around Laszlo's house. One night, Laszlo's night light went out, and the dark visited him in his bedroom. The dark leads Laszlo all the way to the basement, where he finds a new light bulb for his night light. There is a great passage towards the end of the story that explains that there is no reason to be afraid of the dark. The dark is there because without a roof, rain would fall on your bed, and with a window, you couldn't see outside, and so on.

I would love to use this book in the classroom. Especially for children who are afraid of the dark! This is a great story to show them that there is nothing to be scared of. Laszlo never has trouble with the dark again, and if students know there is nothing to be afraid of, they won't either.