Reviews

The Dark by Lemony Snicket, Jon Klassen

wrentheblurry's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5 stars.

Simply drawn, in muted colors (with lots of DARK, of course). It might be a bit scary for some kids, though there is a happy ending. I found The Dark's approach to solving the scared-of-the-dark problem ingenious. One could take a larger lesson here as well, and apply the boy's approach to other troubling issues that won't go away, but instead we need to learn to live with them.

jessethereader's review against another edition

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5.0

My sister gave this to me for christmas and I'm so glad she did, because I loved it! A simple but powerful story about overcoming your fears. I think that I will always love and appreciate Lemony Snicket's work and I'm happy that I got the chance to read this little book.

thelibraryskeeper's review against another edition

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5.0

I had no idea that Snicket wrote an actual kids book and I adored this. It was very great for my elementary level of French I have learned so far and would recommend this for others learning looking for a little challenge.

pewterwolf's review against another edition

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4.0

Review Taken From The Pewter Wolf

You think I would find writing this review of The Dark by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by Jon Klassen quite easy? It should be a walk in the park. So why it is so hard to write?!

The story about Laszlo, a boy who's scared of the dark. But with his nightlight, he should be safe. Then, one night, his nightlight fails. This is the story of a boy and how he stopped being afraid of the dark.

I adore the illustrations. I can not fault them. There's something very simple about them that's lovely and I know younger readers will love them. It's not all BRIGHT SHINY COLOURS! Bright colours won't work with a story about the dark and as most the story is black pages with white writing.

Now, the story. I know most people will buy this because it's Lemony Snicket, author of A Series of Unfortunate Events and All The Wrong Questions. He's known for his dark (pun not intented - well... not on purpose) humour. And we do see it come up... on really one page. The rest of the story was very simple and gentle, perfect for younger readers.

For adult fans, they might find this lacking. But for young readers, I think they will love reading this and confronting their own fears of the dark.

lexie_gabrielle's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

lattelibrarian's review against another edition

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5.0

What an incredible take on a common childhood fear!  By voicing the dark and giving it a personality, Snicket and Klassen do a fantastic job at rationalizing this fear and by helping children realize that perhaps the dark isn't so bad, after all.  I'm always a fan of Snicket and Klassen, and the fact that these two worked together to create a book as amazing as this...I'm just blown away.  Snicket does a great job narrating, as always, and Klassen gives so much personality to a concept only represented by the color black in his illustrations.  This was really just a great book, absolutely fantastic.  This is great for the young one who loves suspenseful stories, or for the young one who wants extra guidance with working through their fear of the dark.

Review cross-listed here!

itselvv's review against another edition

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قصة عن مواجهة المخاوف والتغلب عليها.. الرسومات ظريفة للغاية والعبرة جيدة. ماتعة ومفيدة للطفل والبالغ على حد سواء، وقد يجد البالغ فيها عبرةً أكثر عمقًا وقوة.

lannthacker's review against another edition

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4.0

Beautiful muted illustrations accompany a Snickety story about the dark, which is at first a bit scary but turns a bit absurd. Lovely.

ivyinthepages's review against another edition

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5.0

<b>Rating:</b> 4.83 leaves out of 5
-<u>Characters:</u> 5/5 
-<u>Cover:</u> 5/5
-<u>Story:</u> 5/5
-<u>Writing:</u> 5/5
<b>Genre:</b> Children, Fantasy
-<u>Children:</u> 5/5
-<u>Fantasy:</u> 4/5
<b>Type:</b> Book
<b>Worth?:</b> Yes

carrotts's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

3.0