Review by Nisha Patel
Orca Book Publishers, 2022
18 pages, Hardcover, $19.95 CAN, 9781459831315
Picture book, ages 3-5.
Fiction, Poetry/Verse
Welcome, dark
Cool and gray.
Come and tuck
The world away.
…
Welcome, rain.
There’s work to do.
Come and wash
The world anew.
In a wonderful celebration of a fearful dark, St. Pierre and Wada weave image and poetry together to transform a child’s questions and fears of the encroaching nighttime into a soothing, sonic story of the many natural and helpful nuances that darkness offers to the world.
Young readers are invited to close their eyes and lean into the sounds and sights of the dark that might otherwise cause fear. Illustrated to showcase the many hues and complex colours of the night, Welcome, Dark is a story for night times and bedtimes as a child is left to fall asleep. It is also a story for the curious learner of the day that wonders about the many things they cannot stay up to see and seeks out quiet time to find an answer.
With many young children the night poses an unknown, often frightening world where some of our primary senses are put to work. Our imaginations bloom in inarticulate ways at times—magnifying a simple rustle or bird call, or the sound of rain on window’s glass. St. Pierre’s poetic story offers answers: the rustle is the wind, and the call of birds are just a normal part of the world at night, which has its own purpose in the time. The rain is more than a boundless source of anxiety—it is the sky opening to wash the cars the child sees, water the crops that grow the child’s food, and fill the seas the child visits or dreams of. And the wind, thought to turn the sound of leaves into specters, instead teaches them to dance and twirl.
Many children may also find the scenescapes to be a source of curiosity and comfort as well. Inundated with overly colourful media, play toys, and scenery, children often surround themselves in daytime with colours that bring joy and excitement. Primary colours are favourites for the many things a child needs from their clothing to their cups. But slowly, through Wada’s rich grey and blue illustrations, the depth of the deep navies, blacks, and whites of this colour palette move the story forward with as much detail as any other brightly coloured story time might—offering a distinct visual change for the audiences that hopefully sparks a new attention to the world around them. Parents or caregivers may find that a child welcomes this change of pace.
In the end, the dark at night is shown to be less of an unknown and more of a comfort, soothing a child to sleep and quiet. Children listening in to the rhythm of the story are calmed and reassured that the night brings much good, too.
Nisha Patel is a Poet Laureate Emeritus of the City of Edmonton and a Canadian Poetry Slam Champion. A queer and disabled artist, Nisha focuses on poetry, children’s literatures, and comics. Her sophomore collection of poetry, A Fate Worse Than Death, engages in the quality of life and treatment of patients surrounding disability, and is out now with Arsenal Pulp Press.
YOUNG ADULTING 