A Dark Dark Tale (Picture Puffins)

Rating:
Summary: dark but not scary
Review: A wonderful choice for young children at Halloween or any time of year. Reading this aloud is lots of fun -- you can make it seem scary as you go through each page, then watch your child's reaction at the end. My son wanted me to read this over and over. We also have fun looking for all the little critters in the forest: owls, bats, tiny glowing eyes peeking out of the dark places, the cat, even a badger!

Rating:
Summary: Once upon a time, there was a dark, dark moor...
Review: This "Dark Dark Tale" by Ruth Brown is simple, short and sports a gothic flair. The illustrations (also by Brown) are nothing short of brilliant. Brown the artist captures the fog, shadows and light of her own dark dark little world. Perfect for preschoolers (my two year old loves it and always anticipates the ending), it holds their attention (there can't be more than 120 words in the entire book) with the repetative prose that children love. Perfect for lovers of children literature and childrens illustrations as well (which is what drew me to the book in the first place). We love it and read it daily.

Rating:
Summary: Cute Cat
Review: This book is rather cute and there is a cat that runs through the pages, making an appearance here and there. I loved the fact that this book presents itself as a "dark, dark" book and it really is funny that it is not a "dark" tale at all. The "darkness" is more about
the lack of light than it being about evil.

You start in a moor and walk through a woods. Then there is a dark castle and you walk up to the door. Once you enter the castle, you are in a dark hall and go up some dark stairs. You are in a fairy tale castle and then you see a dark passage. You are tempted to look behind a dark curtain and then the cat stands looking up at a dark cupboard.

The last page shows a mouse in a box with a rather frightened look on its face. So the only fear in this book is that the cat has found the mouse. Although it does seem the cat leaves the mouse sleeping happily in his little bed with his miniature candle and miniature slippers.

The beauty of this book is in the art. Ruth Brown studied art at the Birmingham College of Art and the Royal College of Art. She has worked on animated films for the BBC.

Meowingly Cute.