Premium Members Get 10% Off and Earn Rewards Find Out More

In the Dark

Add to Wishlist

In the Dark

Hardcover

$18.99

View All Available Formats & Editions

Hardcover
$18.99

View All Available Formats & Editions

SHIP THIS ITEM

Qualifies for Free Shipping
PICK UP IN STORE
Check Availability at Nearby Stores

Available within 2 business hours

Want it Today?
Check Store Availability

Related collections and offers

Want it Today?
Check Store Availability

Overview

With striking illustrations that will make your soul fly and spare text that will make your heart dance, this lyrical picturebook 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.

Product Details
About the Author

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593372838
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	08/29/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	244,342
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 11.75(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD420L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Kate Hoefler is the author of several picture books, including Nothing in Common (illustrated by Corinna Luyken), Great Big Things, Rabbit and the Motorbike, and Real Cowboys, which received two starred reviews and was a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Kate received her MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan, where she was a Colby Fellow. She lives in Ohio with her family.

Corinna Luyken is the author-illustrator of ABC AND YOU AND ME (June 2023); THE TREE IN ME (an NCTE Notable Poetry Book and Indie Bestseller); MY HEART (A New York Times Best Seller); and THE BOOK OF MISTAKES (which The Wall Street Journal called “sublime”). She is also the illustrator of IN THE DARK (Aug 2023) and NOTHING IN COMMON, both written by Kate Hoefler; PATCHWORK (A New York Times and Kirkus Best Picture Book of 2022), written by Matt de la Peña; SOMETHING GOOD and ADRIAN SIMCOX DOES NOT HAVE A HORSE, both written by Marcy Campbell; and WEIRD LITTLE ROBOTS, written by Carolyn Crimi. She was raised in Oregon, California, and Hawaii; and studied dance improvisation, poetry, and printmaking at Middlebury College in Vermont. She now lives near the Salish Sea in Olympia, WA with her husband, daughter, and two small cats.

From the B&N Reads Blog

Page 1 of

Editorial Reviews

07/31/2023
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.)

Publishers Weekly

11/01/2023
Gr 1–3—An all-but-bifurcated page makes a mystery of events in the woods, with a gossipy, speculative narrative running across the top of spreads, and a quieter, more neutral reporting of activities on the bottom: "They came in the dark and took the narrow path that only witches used. Everyone said that's what they were," is the book's opening line, but below it in italics, it reads, "It was a woods full of birds." The tone of suspicion deepens. Along the top, the story is, "They danced around fires at night—witches' brew." By contrast, a cheery glow lights the bottom half of the page, accompanied by the words, "We made our own light." A blonde child from the gloaming on the upper part of the page begins to interact with a dark-haired child of the lower part, whom readers later see dancing joyfully, right before an illustration of "their" dark shapes filling the skies. As the two stories intersect, suspicion gives way to grudging admission of truth, and then genuine regret for the misguided assumptions. The people who took the narrow path were building and flying kites. The simplicity of the two tales, which were inevitably headed for collision, combined with distilled use of colors, hidden by great inky sweeps of black, give this book the clarity of a church bell ringing in the distance. When shapes become visible, revealing a diverse group of celebrants in scenes that dance with purple, gold, blue and green, readers will shake off the haunting beginning, but turn to it again. The story's lesson takes hold quietly and honestly. It's a bit shaming for adults; children may not grasp the gravity of the misunderstandings. VERDICT A bold venture in storytelling will appeal to children for its overall atmospherics and the twist in the plot, but the finger-pointing is aimed squarely at us.—Kimberly Olson Fakih

School Library Journal

2023-05-24
Prejudice collides with neighborly goodwill when love and truth overcome superstition.
“They came in the dark and took the narrow path that only witches used. Everyone said that’s what they were.” A suspicious text laden with ill will and shadowy scratch-lined art full of foreboding imagery fills the top half of the page. On the bottom half, however, a different narrative takes place. The top is told from the perspective of villagers who eye the people in the woods with suspicion bordering on outright accusation (“They brought cloaks and brooms—so many brooms”), while the bottom half is a gentle counterpart (“We brought cloth and wooden handles”). Turns out, the people in the woods are constructing beautiful bird kites to fly. And when harsh winds tear away those kites, the now remorseful villagers bring supplies of their own to help the people of the woods fly their birds again. Certainly the resolution to the conflict between the two groups comes with unrealistic ease, so the true lures here are the art and design. The split pages, containing two conversations at once, require a certain level of sophistication on the part of young readers. Meanwhile, Luyken imbues her art with a palette of blacks, greens, purples, and golds that hint at more than just misunderstandings in the shadows. Characters are diverse.(This book was reviewed digitally.)
A marvelous mix of autumnal spirits with a deeper call for understanding. (Picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews

"A story....told with a spare, lyrical prose that invites engagement. Luyken’s art....truly gives the feeling of an autumn bonfire glowing through the chilly shadows and brambles." —The New York Times

★ "Magical and astute, In the Dark sheds light on building community through kindness, compassion, and connection." —Booklist, starred review

"A marvelous mix of autumnal spirits with a deeper call for understanding." —Kirkus Reviews

"Via a perspective-oriented picture book that’s printed to flip vertically, the creators delicately explore a community divided." —Publishers Weekly

"Hoefler's text is atmospheric and lyrical; Luyken's mixed-media art....excels at portraying the eeriness of the woods as well as their benign reality." —The Horn Book

"A bold venture in storytelling will appeal to children for its overall atmospherics and the twist in the plot." —School Library Journal

From the Publisher

In the Dark

In the Dark

Hardcover

Hardcover

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Related Searches

Explore More Items

Related collections and offers

Overview

Product Details

About the Author

Related Subjects

Customer Reviews