The Dark, by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen

Staff Review by Chris Saliba

Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen's first collaboration together is this delightful picture book which tackles childhood fear of the dark.

Young Lazlo lives in a big, sparse house with lots of stairways and big rooms. There’s also a basement where the dark lives. At night, the dark spreads throughout the rest of the house, and in morning the dark retreats back into the basement. Lazlo is scared of the dark.

One night the dark starts speaking to Lazlo. He beckons him into the basement. Then leads him to a dresser and asks him to open the bottom drawer. When Lazlo does so he discovers something that will help him with his fear.

John Klassen’s moody and evocative drawings work perfectly with Lemony Snicket’s suspenseful yet ultimately comforting story about coping with the uneasy feeling that the night can bring on. This new picture book, perfect for 3 – 6 year olds, is the first time Jon Klassen and Lemony Snicket have collaborated together and the results are delightful and charming.  Klassen has already leapt to the top of the "favorite picture book" list with his now classic  I Want My Hat Back and of course Snicket was responsible for those much loved Series of Unfortunate Events.


The Dark, by Lemony Snicket and Jon Klassen. Published by Orchard. ISBN: 9781408330029  RRP: $24.99