The Thing in the Dark

AGE: 8-10

Who hasn`t been afraid of the dark? There is a "Thing" living under the bed of the young narrator and it terrifies him. It shrinks in the daytime, but when his mother turns off the light at night, the Thing grows enormous. One frightening time, the boy begins to talk to the Thing, and it becomes his best friend, his protector, his scapegoat and his confessor. Then tragedy strikes and the boy`s father is killed in the war. The boy can`t talk to his father any more, but he can send the Thing to where his father is. When Shlomo, his father`s friend, becomes a permanent presence in the house, Thing travels to Daddy for the most important advice the boy gets: Daddy is happy that Shlomo can care for the family because Shlomo is a good man.

Illustrations: Milka Cizik