Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night by Jon Davis -- OPTIONAL

Davis, Jon Small Blue and the Deep Dark Night. PICTURE BOOK. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014. $16.99. Content: PG.

Small Blue is terrified of the dark, and imagines all sorts of eerie monsters watching her from the depths. In fear she calls out to Big Brown, a sweet bear who comforts her by showing her that she could just as easily imagine kind or funny scenes instead of scary ones. At ease now, Small Blue falls asleep while envisioning "delightful doggies, smiley spacemen, or retired pirates."

While I love the premise of this book, too much time is spent detailing Small Blue's fears instead of spinning them into positive thoughts. Like Small Blue, my daughter has an active imagination, and this story only fueled it, making the night come alive with dark creatures she'd never even thought of before and completely overshadowing the message of the book. Perhaps it will work on other children, especially if all other possibilities have been explored or if they have a less-vivid imagination.

Pre-K, EL (K-3) -- OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Caryn