Orion and the Dark

Orion and the Dark written and illustrated by Emma Yarlett (2015)

Orion is afraid of a lot of things, but the one thing he is most afraid of is the dark. None of his plans to overcome this fear have worked, Orion still hates bedtime. Then one night when he couldn’t take it anymore, Orion shouted to the darkness to just go away. But instead of going away the Dark came into his room. Dark took Orion on an adventure. They looked into the closet, under the bed, down the drain, and in the basement. And then Dark took Orion outside all the way up into the night sky. They had so much fun and Dark became Orion’s friend. In the morning, Dark started to fade away, but he promised that he would be back the next night and from then on Dark was always with him at bedtime.

Have some fun with your little ones tonight. Talk a walk in the dark. You can take a small flashlight in your pocket just in case someone gets too scared to keep going.

Make shadow puppets, catch fireflies, play hide and seek or tag, wear glow necklaces, listen to the crickets, look for constellations, and make a wish on a star.

For even more fun, prepare a few surprises during the day to make your nighttime walk even more spectacular.

Create a glow in the dark sidewalk chalk masterpiece. Don’t let the kids know that it will glow for a special evening surprise for them. Directions to mix up your own glow in the dark chalk HERE. Make a Fairy Jar.