Moving home brings about a new change but for young ones this can be a tricky time.
A young girls reluctancy to move home along with her dad and pet dog are shared in the opening page of this sweetly illustrated read. Created and written by Sarah Shaffi and Isabel Otter with illustrations by Lucy Farfort, this book is part of publishers Little Tiger’s series of Our Town books.
Afraid of the Dark explores various personal experiences that the young girl encounters. One of those things are her being afraid of the dark. Getting used to a new town, new home and new bedroom, can all take time and then to have unrecognisable shadows around whilst you’re trying to sleep is just too much for this little one.
An encounter with two children really helps the little girl. Not only has she made two new friends but their “secret den” has helped her fear a little about darkness. Her dad is also super supportive and knows his daughter so well. Together they create a wonderful space where the young girl feels safe and at ease in the darkness of the night.
The illustrations are just so lovely, sharing tender moments brilliantly and depicting the girls emotions so well. This is illustrators Lucy Farfort’s debut picture book and I think it is wonderful. I was so excited to see Lucy’s work having met her at a Breaking New Ground event not so long ago.
I love that amongst the artwork we see a community reflecting reality and many readers will be able to see themselves in this book. The young girl is brought up by her dad, there is no mention of another parent. And, the entire book is printed on wood free paper with a twinkling foil front cover that is so lovely to touch.
The Our Town series celebrates a town with a diverse population. The authors are two people whose work i absolutely love. Isabel Otter, who is no strange to my blog, (Together, The Garden of Hope, This Love and more) and creator Sarah Shaffi, an editor, is the cofounder of #Bameinpublishing and a freelance journalist whose work has featured in Stylist magazine including Ramadan diaries, which I loved.
This would be a lovely book to include when exploring the topic of night time and equally a reassuring read for before bedtime also.
Disclaime: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of review. Thank you Little Tiger. All words and opinions are my own. This post contains an affiliate link.