The Dark Book

Jule Ann pounds on the bottom of a cookie jar, and a small dark lump bounces out. The Dark quickly gobbles up every shadow in sight, growing bigger with each one. Munsch's plucky heroine resolves the perplexing problem with brilliant, spirited logic.

Children's Literature

When Jule Ann comes downstairs for breakfast and dumps a small dark lump out of her cookie jar, she has no idea that she has just unleashed the Dark, a veritable shadow-eating monster. Jule Ann's father immediately throws the Dark out the window and it gleefully hops down the street consuming everything (well at least every shadow) in its path. Within hours, the whole city is blanketed in darkness. This, of course, upsets Jule Ann greatly and she devises a clever scheme to get the Dark back where he belongs. Written for a child who was afraid of the dark, this story is, unfortunately, somewhat less-than inspiring but is ultimately saved by the illustrator. 1997 (orig.