Anyone out there with a young child afraid of the dark what could be lurking in the dark will find great joy in this book from author Josh Pyke and illustrator Chris Nixon.
Leonard is, by all accounts, your typical child. Down to his fear of what could be hiding in the dark. You see, every time his parents put him to bed and say, "Lights out, Leonard," Leonard shrieks "NO!" and lists off all the various creatures that are just waiting to get to him.
It doesn't matter if Leonard's eyes are getting heavy or it seems as though he's already fallen into a deep sleep. The second his parents try to turn out the lights, he is alert and adamant that the lights must stay on! Despite many attempts to get the lights out and claims of "five more minutes" from his parents, eventually the two are exhausted and give in to Leonard's need of keeping the lights on.
In a clever twist one night, Leonard finds a mysterious book on his bed titled How to Frighten Monsters. In it, he learns that the secrets to keeping monsters away just happen to be the same things he should do to get ready for bed, anyway! He also finds a tear-out Beware of the Child sign to hang on his door. (Leonard's parents are pure geninuses.)
That night, Leonard hangs the sign on his bedroom door and goes through every step that the book outlines. He brushes his teeth, cleans his room, brings out his stuffed animals, plays some soothing music, and makes sure he has kisses from both his parents.
After following each step to a tee, Leonard is finally confident and comfortable enough to sleep with the lights out.
Parents everywhere will relate with Leonard's tired, defeated parents. Children will relate to Leonard's fears and need for the lights to remain on! The clever spin on each step of the bedtime routine will have audiences of all ages laughing.
My husband and I both enjoyed the story and the fun art style! As he wrapped up his reading of the book to Mackenzie, he said, "Oh, I expected there to be a tear-out Beware of the Child poster at the end!" I told him I hadn't thought of that, but I would make one to include with my review! So, here it is. Clicking on the image will take you to the full resolution file for download and printing!
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