Review of All About a Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark (and how he got over it)

[Maduabuchi Okwiya N Eze]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "All About a Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark (and how he got over it)" by Ann Marie Hannon.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Certain incidents, like the one that happened at the zoo, have shown that Patrick, a roughly two-year-old boy, has an unresolved bundle of fear in his subconscious. It is no surprise when he wakes up in the middle of the night and begins to cry, overwhelmed by the blanket of darkness. It is now obvious that Patrick needs to fix his perception of himself and his environment. Could he be able to do that himself? Could he be open enough to accept the help that would come his way?

All About a Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark (and How He Got Over It) is a children's story written by Ann Marie Hannon. It is one of the books in the Kids with Worries series. Among other things, I was most impressed by Ann's use of creative stories to address the problems being faced by children. This is because it raises awareness about some children's crises, some of which may not be detected by their busy parents and carers.

Another interesting aspect of this story is that Ann not only highlighted Patrick's problems but also went on to trace their root cause. This was followed by a rebirth in perception and self-consciousness, qualities that enabled Patrick to handle his problems. In addition, the story covers some amazing themes as regards children's problems and well-being, like the benefits of a peaceful, lovely family to a child's all-around growth and development. This theme is conclusively developed through Patrick's parents, sister, grandma, and uncle.

The illustrations helped provide visual representations of some incidents in the story, but they didn't meet my taste. For example, the paintings didn't accurately capture the blanket of darkness in Patrick's room. The word choices were relatively simple, but I would have appreciated them more if Ann had used shorter, clearer sentences. For example, some words should have been removed from the following sentence to make things easier for children: "Even the time when a big dog at the park tried to lick Patrick's face, he was afraid and had some big worries and afraid feelings" (page 12 of 32).

Concerning the editing, I would say enough effort was put into delivering a quality job; I found just one grammatical error while reading the book. So, I would rate this book four out of five stars because of the gripping narration and the awareness it creates about children's crises and approaches to their solutions. A star was deducted due to the misses I highlighted in the above paragraph. This story will be better enjoyed by readers between four and eight years old.

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All About a Boy Who Was Afraid of the Dark (and how he got over it)
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[Mary Bliss]

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