Worcestershire | Archive | 2002 | November | 6
From the archive, first published Wednesday 6th Nov 2002.
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson. Illustrated by Paul Howard (Mammoth, £9.99)
Like so many children's books on the market, this example tells a delightful story with exquisite illustrations, but there is a secret weapon which will appeal to any reader.
The baby barn owl afraid of the dark is called Plop. This provided endless hilarity for my five year-old and helped create another chink in the seemingly solid brick wall that she sees as "learning to read".
All of a sudden she was keen to search for the word Plop on each page and gambolled around the house afterwards spelling it out for hours.
Thank you, thank you, thank you Ms Tomlinson for creating this inspired feathered friend who insists he is afraid of the dark.
His patient parents encourage him to speak to all sorts of characters about their experiences of the dark, all of which are exciting and fun.
The repetition of phrases, use of capital letters for positive experiences and the loving message caressing each page is a classic which will be returned to night after night.
Jackie Harris
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