Books like The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark

Published before I was even born; lying in wait until I had my own children; I have no idea why I chose not to pick this up before now. Tomlinson's 1968 well-loved little book of an owl who would rather be out during the day than the night, is charming. Each chapter has little Plop sent off by his parents (who I adored for their subtle humour) to find out why the dark can be a good thing. Although my eldest (4) was instantly drawn to the repetitive element of the chapters (who will Plop meet next), he was also tickled by Plop's nature: inquisitive, innocent, silly and quirksome. It didn't take him long to notice that Plop's descent from the trees gradually improves or that each person Plop met, taught him something about the night: this structure was a comforting aspect of the narrative for him. For me, a review cannot be completed without a nod to Paul Howard's wonderful pencil illustrations which brought to life Plop's world.