In the Dark is a 2023 picture book written by Kate Hoefler and illustrated by Corinna Luyken.
I’ve really enjoyed works by each of these creators, and I was intrigued to see what they would do together.
The result (this book) is very strong, though if I’m being honest, I enjoyed past works a bit more.
This book has strong design. As the cover image below shows, it uses a nonstandard shape (short and wide). However the image does not show that the book’s spine is along the long end, or that after you open it there, you turn it 90 degrees, to create interesting paging effects. Sometimes the two pages form one larger image. Sometimes, the images are independent, but run parallel to one another, an imagistic version of parallel plots. When there are distinct images, the text in the upper image is standard (upright, or roman), but italicized in the lower image. The color palates differ too. While there is considerable black on both pages, the other sections of the upper pages start green and yellow (sunlight), and the lower start purplish and white (moonlight).
So, before you start reading, you know this is a book about different, parallel worlds, day and night.
The book is about identity, storytelling, and magic, all of which comes together in the (natural) dark of the woods.
The story proceeds on parallel tracks that eventually intersect, and to be honest, I’m not sure what happened. The stories speak of “we” and “them,” but I can’t tell if these are distinct communities, parts of the self, or different historical tracks.
This book is lovely and ambitious. and uses light and design well, But if I’m being honest, I wasn’t fully satisfied.
