Orion and the Dark

K-Gr 2—Young Orion likes to doodle, and his notebook records his scary personal world—big dogs, wasps, girls, the ocean, spiders, heights, storms, and…THE DARK. He's listed many ways to solve his fear of the dark, from amazing inventions to capturing the sun, but at the end of each day, "it's bedtime again." One frustrating evening his nemesis returns in a personal visit. A surprising physical hand pops out as a page extension of the immense Dark greeting young Orion with an invitation to adventure. Orion then begins a time of exploration, understanding, and even enjoyment through visits to the magical shadows of his surroundings while he makes a discovery—"The Dark could be my friend. And nobody (not even me) is scared of their best friend." Digital cartoon illustrations with whimsical pencil doodles (including Orion in his bunny slippers) offer a wide range of fonts and humorous scribbled comments on a child's world. While the small-font doodles might not make this an easy read-aloud, a variety of text in illustrations, speech bubbles, Orion's notebook, and first-person narration create an intimate environment for an inquisitive individual reader with an interest in science and fantasy.