Home › Find a book › The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the DarkJill Tomlinson
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark
by Jill Tomlinson
Plop is a barn owl who will not fly at night because the dark frightens him. One by one, the people he meets show him something the dark is good for.
A story about animals, gentle and warm in tone. We would put it with children of 6–8, and at a reading age of about 7 for reading alone.
Nothing flagged
We have not flagged any content in this one that a parent would usually want warning about.
Our take on this book
Plop is a plump baby barn owl with one serious problem for a creature who is supposed to hunt at night: he is afraid of the dark. Rather than being told off, he goes and asks — a boy, an old lady, a scout, a cat — and each of them gives him a different reason the dark is not so bad, until he is ready to take off. Jill Tomlinson's book has kept its place for decades because it treats a small fear with real patience, never mocking Plop and never rushing him. Each chapter is a self-contained visit, which makes it a gentle read-aloud you can take a piece at a time at bedtime — appropriately, given the subject. It is warm rather than exciting, with no peril in it, and it does the quiet work of turning the dark from a threat into something full of good things.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
Frog and Toad All YearArnold Lobel
Frog and Toad Are FriendsArnold Lobel
Frog and Toad TogetherArnold Lobel
The Sheep-PigDick King-Smith
Spring StoryJill Barklem
The House at Pooh CornerA. A. Milne
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.