A Dark, Dark Tale

Product Information

The sentences are short and rhythmic which appeals to my toddler and keeps her attention, as we play spot the cat over each page. As you flip from page to page, the reader gets focused in on a more specific piece of information about this abandoned residence located in the middle of the woods. Although the story is “spooky” it’s not too frightening for my 2-4 year olds as it has a happy ending. On every page, a black cat can be found by the careful reader, and that is a great way to involve a child in the book, and as I've mentioned in previous posts, illustrations that promote scanning are great for children who need visual input. This is also a great book to teach students to ask and answer questions about key details in a text: RL.

You notice how some people seem to get incredibly insulted when you don’t like a book that they absolutely adore, and then proceed to attack you, and your review, on those grounds. The drawing of the mansion made it look like a castle, and through the drawings you could tell that this mansion was abandoned.This is a tale which begins out on a 'dark dark moor' and follows a sequence moving from the moor, to a wood, to a house, to a door, to the inside of the house etc. Once upon a time there was a dark, dark moor," the tale begins, and each two-page spread that follows narrows the focus - there is a dark, dark wood on the dark, dark moor; then a dark, dark house in the dark, dark wood; and so on - until finally, we discover what is waiting for us, at the end of all this dark darkness.

I think this book would be great to read aloud in front of young readers, especially around Halloween time! In particular, there is one about a forest and a witch that was a read-a-long that I read over and over and I can’t find it.With all the repetition of words and structure, gorgeous atmospheric illustrations, and just the right amount of new vocabulary, "A Dark, Dark Tale" is a Halloween home run. The illustrations are superb, it doesn’t just feel like a book but like you’re being transported into another world. The simplicity of the text and the expressive beauty of the illustrations build up the tension to culminate in a surprising ending in this stunning picture book by Ruth Brown. At least God gave me the ability to appreciate a wonderful story, beautiful illustrations and the simple joy of reading!