Darkness Slipped In - an antidote for scary nights

My daughter picked up Darkness Slipped In at the library truck last week, and it immediately jumped out to me as being very different from your average kids' book.

I assume it was conceived as a book to reassure children who are afraid of the dark, but it doesn't do so in the usual predictable, literal way. In this story, darkness is a character who may seem scary at first, but who succumbs easily to a bit of dancing and the offer of friendship. Never once does the story suggest baldly that the protagonist is scared of the dark, and in fact you'd come away thinking you wish you could meet someone as much fun.

An interesting print method is used, whereby Darkness, black as can be, is glossier than the rest of the page, providing a tactile focus for the child, too.

Did the book get its message across to my daughter? Well, at three and a half, she seems to be too young for this sophisticated level of metaphor. Although she enjoyed the story on her own terms, there were an awful lot of WHY?s (mind you, there always are these days).

For an older child with a confirmed fear of the dark, I think this would be a very good choice, however. I'd be interested, if any of you buy it on such grounds, to hear whether it actually helps. So many such books seem great to the adult purchasers, but do little for the child.

One more thing: the link above is to Amazon UK. It does not yet seem to be available on Amazon.com.