Hello, Dark

Written by Wai Mei Wong
Illustrated by Tamara Campeau
Pajama Press
978-1-77278-221-9
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
October 2021

Tomorrow's release of Wai Mei Wong and Tamara Campeau's picture book Hello, Dark may herald the use of a new strategy for young children to help them cope with their fears of the dark. After all, the dark will always be there and if there's a way to make friends with it, it's certain to make bedtime and sleep time much easier.

From Hello, Dark by Wai Mei Wong, illus. by Tamara Campeau

After a child has been put to bed, he sits on his bed, facing his closet and begins a conversation with the dark. Starting with a cordial "Hello, Dark," he begins to recite what he knows of the dark, such as that it creeps in when the sun goes down and keeps him wide awake and worrying. He knows of the creaks and the sounds it makes, hiding everything in its shadows and making him feel helpless and alone. But tonight the boy is determined that things will be different.

I'm tired of being afraid of you.
Tonight, can we talk?

From Hello, Dark by Wai Mei Wong, illus. by Tamara Campeau

Now the child recounts all the good things that the darkness helps to happen, from animals like the fox and the owl that feel safe in the shadows and the moon and stars that can only shine when in the darkness.

Thinking that maybe the dark isn't scary but really just lonely, the boy offers to be its friend. He suggests that they talk about happy things, play imaginary games–the dark makes a good shadow pirate–count sheep, breathe, and listen to music, many strategies offered to help all of us fall asleep. But by making the dark his partner in those strategies, the child removes the dark from a sleep-inhibiting role and truly makes it a friend.

 

From Hello, Dark by Wai Mei Wong, illus. by Tamara Campeau

Too many parents and teachers dismiss children's fears of the dark by telling them that there's nothing to be afraid of. Sadly, that does not eliminate the fear. By addressing a child's fear as something tangible, even as a dark amorphous form, Wai Mei Wong has let this child have his fear and helps him, and every child who reads this book, to cope with it. He is every child and so his solutions to deal with the dark could also belong to every child. Moreover, by having him try a variety of strategies from breathing to listening to music, using his imagination and self-soothing through talk, Wai Mei Wong offers children opportunities to make friends with the dark for themselves.

Artist Tamara Campeau could have given the night the eerie nature that many children attribute to it but this deeply-coloured book is anything but dark. Tamara Campeau, who recently illustrated the gorgeous Grandfather Bowhead, Tell Me a Story, uses rich blues and purples to evoke the night but permeates the child's room with the primary colours, even if subdued in a lack of light. From his pajamas and bed covers to growth chart and books, everything that is familiar to him is always there, even if the dark is too, and reassures children that all those much-loved playthings and familiar bedroom items will still be there in the morning. 

If you know a child who struggles with the night, Hello, Dark will offer them more than one way to cope with being left in a room without light, the greatest of which is embracing the darkness as a companion, not villain.