Beatrice Likes the Dark
Beatrice Likes the Dark
Select a format:
Publisher's Hardcover ©2022--
To purchase this item, you must first login or register for a new account.
Workman Pub. Co.
Annotation: In celebrated YA author April Genevieve Tucholke's debut picture book, sisters Beatrice and Roo learn to accept each other's differences in this heartwarming, slightly spooky story with art by award-winning illustrator Khoa Le.
 
Reviews: 4
Catalog Number: #354637
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Publisher: Workman Pub. Co.
Copyright Date: 2022
Edition Date: 2022 Release Date: 09/13/22
Illustrator: Le, Khoa,
Pages: 1 volume (unpaged)
ISBN: 1-643-75157-3
ISBN 13: 978-1-643-75157-3
Dewey: E
LCCN: 2022004868
Dimensions: 27 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
ALA Booklist

There are those who prefer the night and the wonders darkness holds, like stars, the color black, spiders, potion making, and graveyard tea parties. Others embrace the cheerful colors of sunlight, butterflies, and balloons of the daytime. Beatrice is cut of the dark-loving cloth and has trouble understanding her younger, sunny sister, Roo d vice versa. The two share a bed and little else, but when Beatrice gets up one night to tiptoe to the attic, Roo cries out not to be left alone in the dark. Grasping her hand, Beatrice takes her sister upstairs and brews a Roo Potion that will help Roo like the dark. Likewise, when morning comes, Roo leads Beatrice outside and teaches her a song to help her like the daytime. While neither loves her sister's realm, both gain an appreciation for it and one another. Le's detailed paintings hold all the magic and wonder the girls feel for their respective surroundings, playing with light and shadow in fantastic ways. A lovely testament to sisterhood and beauty found in all the world's corners.

Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)

Beatrice loves the dark and wearing black, while her younger sister, Roo, prefers the light and wearing "pink and red and purple." They're polar opposites who don't understand each other, but after they each dream about the other one night, Beatrice leads Roo to their farmhouse attic to make a "Roo Potion" to help her enjoy the dark, and the next morning Roo teaches Beatrice a song to "help her like the light." This story of sibling appreciation relies on repetition ("Beatrice likes the night night night and the night night night likes her") to create narrative rhythm and a little mystery, and the bewitching ethereal illustrations set a Halloween mood.

Kirkus Reviews

Sisters who are opposites may help readers find ways to feel comfortable out of their comfort zones…if they have the support of their siblings.While most children will not feel the same way Beatrice does about the dark, spiders, quiet, and picnics in graveyards, they will understand her love for those things and her confusion when faced with their opposites-sunny days and loud things and talking, all things her younger sister, Roo, loves. Tucholke presents each sister's preferences in a way that will have readers empathizing with both and wondering how they will ever get along. But in the end, a sisterly hand in the dark of night, a potion to help Roo appreciate the dark, and a song to help Beatrice learn to enjoy the light bring the two together. They don't suddenly change their likes and dislikes, "but they can love each other, all the same." Thrice repeated words in a font that increases in size weave a spell over readers and emphasize mood. For instance, Beatrice doesn't understand "why some things are so bright bright bright and so loud loud loud." Le's artwork masterfully uses color to set the mood: deep background colors, black, and orange and red highlights for Beatrice's pages; white or light blue backgrounds and bright colors filling Roo's pages; and a blend of the two when the sisters come together. Both sisters are light-skinned with light hair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A sweet tale of sisterly differences and love. (Picture book. 4-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

An instance of compassion prompts two siblings to overcome their emotional distance in Tucholke’s gothic-inflected picture book debut. “Beatrice likes the dark dark dark/ and the dark dark dark likes her,” reads incantatory prose as readers see the black-clad girl picnicking in a graveyard and savoring the hush and creatures of starry nights. Rust-clad sibling Roo is the exact opposite, preferring “sunshine and birthday parties and smashing crashing/ blasting noises and wearing pink and red and purple.” When Beatrice creates a potion one night that makes Roo less afraid of the dark, Roo teaches Beatrice a song to mitigate the sensory overload she feels during the day. Le’s earth-toned art revels in fairy tale romanticism as the two protagonists, portrayed with pale skin and blond hair, discover that, without changing their fundamental preferences, “they can love each other, all the same.” Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Reviewing Agencies: - Find Other Reviewed Titles
ALA Booklist
Horn Book (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2022)
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Reading Level: 1.0
Interest Level: K-3

Two sisters learn to celebrate their individuality in this slightly spooky tale about love, family, and how our differences can bring us together.

Beatrice likes the dark. She likes black clothes, graveyard picnics, and a sky full of stars. Her sister, Roo, likes the light. She likes bright clothes, picking strawberries, and hot, sunny days. Can Beatrice help Roo love the dark as she does? Can Roo help Beatrice love the light? Or are they simply too different to get along?  
 
Lushly detailed artwork from award-winning illustrator Khoa Le brings to vivid life acclaimed author April Tucholke’s heartwarming tale about two very different sisters who learn that love runs deeper than their differences.


*Prices subject to change without notice and listed in US dollars.
Perma-Bound bindings are unconditionally guaranteed (excludes textbook rebinding).
Paperbacks are not guaranteed.
Please Note: All Digital Material Sales Final.