Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett

Orion and the Dark, first published in 2014, is written in a classic story structure. This picture book portrays a young boy, named Orion, who is scared of the dark despite trying everything he can think of to conquer his fear.

The concept that this book takes next, though, is one I’ve never seen before. Yarlett creates a magical kick-off to propel Orion on his journey by personifying his fear. The Dark becomes an adorably helpful and caring character. The capitalization of Dark from this point on creates a clear “before,” and “after” for the reader.

Yarlett’s use of detail within the illustrations creates a huge opportunity for readability. All children will enjoy the pastels against the dark backgrounds which creates a glow effect. The readers will feel the flight Orion takes when observing the spot illustrations across and double-page spreads, as well as map layouts, that capture such movement and create impressive motion. The Dark change in size compared to Orion adds to the Dark’s magic.

Yarlett doesn’t just play with the illustrations though. Her wordplay can be seen in the repetition of descriptions like “darkest places of all,” in her use of lists to build momentum and emphasize an idea like “the dark could be…” with more powerful words each time, and alliteration like murky monsters, scary sounds, and tummy twist. Her use of the first person point of view allows Orion to speak directly to the reader, and her illustrations bring the reader into his thoughts. She also crafts dialogue between Orion and the Dark using speech bubbles. These bubbles, along with all of the other detail within the illustrations, and the hand pop-outs which creates a 3-D meeting and goodbye with the Dark, make this picture book accessible for young readers and will spark conversation amongst older readers.

The most exciting part? After experiencing Orion and the Dark’s adventure on the page, I am excited to compare it to the animated movie, coming to Netflix in February 2024.