The King Who Banned the Dark

Product Information

The end of the story, when reason wins out, illustrates this point: the King understands his mistake, rescinds the ban on the dark and starts to sleep by a nightlight: had he done that in the first place, the whole mess could have been avoided. Inspired by the illustration, we had a go at creating our own images using a restricted colour palette with liquid chalks and dark paper. Once the celebrations starts, more colours enter the scene, and we see people as individuals rather than just the king's subjects. A closer look reveals darker undertones regarding the power of dangerous ideologies, and how easily thoughts can be manipulated through the spreading of fear by those of authority. We began with a discussion about the title we were initially intrigued about why he banned the dark, and then happy to be correct when we began reading.

It is clear that readers would notice lots of different details within each picture, and create their own ideas. For normal functioning, and particularly for creativity and thinking, people need moments of silence, nature, contemplation, reflection and being alone.Readers can only hope that, as in this story, they will live to see a rational resistance to superficiality, to that constant dazzle, behind which no true, real content is concealed. This text describes a King who bans the dark, thinking it's a good idea, however, everyone then became so tired due to them having not slept for ages.

There is a brilliant activity pack, filled with fun things to do and ways to explore the message of the book. Shades of grey and black contrast against the oppressive presence of bright white and glaring yellow with one particularly beautiful scene making a special celebration with a blast of colour. I personally like to think of it as being the lighter option, making it a perfect bedtime story to be enjoyed time and time again! You know those books that you read as a teacher, and wonder if the children will get the same deep meaning that you believe you have uncovered (because you are obviously so clever).

It's not often that you get a children's picture book that perfectly sums up prevailing social and political attitudes, how power works to corrupt, and how easy it is to get worked up over nothing. I love the white light that shines from the bicycle lights, there really is so much light coming from everywhere in the picture, the artist has no where else to go but 'white'! Three illustrations on one page so effortlessly depict the way the rumours about the dark were spread, leaving the language uncluttered and the message clear.

We could talk about the negative aspects of having your greatest dreams come true and why we need both the good and bad to be happy. It is therefore vital to talk to young people about all kinds of information, to make them think about false or true facts and where to check them.The majority will attempt to shove us into their own blank moulds and manipulate us so as to be more like each other, so that nobody stands out, for everyone to wear the same hats and propagate the same values. More than once in history has this kind of manipulation and indoctrination led to the exclusion of Others with terrible consequences. Using a 'combination of ink, watercolour, charcoal, conté crayon and pencil', Haworth-Booth limits her colour palette to show that battle between light and dark. But this constant illumination can also be considered as a metaphor for excessive staring into dazzling screens. Marija Ott Franolić holds a PhD in literature and is affiliated to The Center for Advanced Studies of Southeastern Europe, Croatia ( CAS-SEE).