ISBN 0060205997 - "Stella is afraid of the dark," says the first page. A small boy holds his friend's arm and points to his dog. It couldn't possibly be clearer who it is that's afraid of the dark, could it? Of course it could! The dog's owner is actually the one afraid, but he doesn't want to admit it. His friend tells him how to help his dog - and in the end, his dog helps him!
Not a giant brain-drain for an adult, kids really might have a tough time understanding without assistance. In the text, it's the dog who is afraid. In the illustrations, it's the dog's owner who is shown acting frightened while the dog sleeps peacefully. This is just one of those book that parents need to read to kids. Since it's a cute little tool for helping kids who are afraid of the dark and have trouble sleeping because of it, I'm sure most parents will be doing the reading, but if you're not going to read it TO them, and talk to them about it, they're likely to get confused.
The illustrations are mediocre and, honestly, if you're going to use this to help your little one get over his or her fears, you'd better buy him or her their own dog, or it'll never work! Not great, not horrible, Bonsall's just created a tool - it's what you do with it that will make the difference.
- AnnaLovesBooks
Not a giant brain-drain for an adult, kids really might have a tough time understanding without assistance. In the text, it's the dog who is afraid. In the illustrations, it's the dog's owner who is shown acting frightened while the dog sleeps peacefully. This is just one of those book that parents need to read to kids. Since it's a cute little tool for helping kids who are afraid of the dark and have trouble sleeping because of it, I'm sure most parents will be doing the reading, but if you're not going to read it TO them, and talk to them about it, they're likely to get confused.
The illustrations are mediocre and, honestly, if you're going to use this to help your little one get over his or her fears, you'd better buy him or her their own dog, or it'll never work! Not great, not horrible, Bonsall's just created a tool - it's what you do with it that will make the difference.
- AnnaLovesBooks
