by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen, Orchard Books, hardback, 11.99
Laszlo is afraid of the dark. Sometimes it is to be found in the cupboard or bath but usually it hides in the basement before it spreads itself across the house at night.
Laszlo decides he’ll visit dark, but dark finds him first and invites him into his room. It’s a scary encounter but one that finally frees Laszlo of his fears.
Snickett’s storytelling combined with Klassen’s familiar palette of dark browns and autumn shades is beatifully evocative and captures perfectly a child’s fear and fascination of darkness.
