Switch on the Night

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From bestselling writer Ray Bradbury and beloved author-illustrator duo Leo and Diane Dillon comes a unique, dreamy perspective on overcoming a fear of the dark.

A lonely little boy who is scared of the dark sits in his room alone, with only light for company, until a little girl named Dark appears and shows him that light switches don’t just switch off the light—they switch on the night. And to switch on the night is to switch on the stars, the moon, the crickets, and the frogs. With the Dillons’ dreamlike illustrations, Switch on the Night is sure to reassure any child who has felt afraid of the unkown; the story will also impress adult readers with its imaginative approach to understanding that which is different.

“Bradbury’s story of a boy who conquers his fear of the night with the help of a child named Dark has been newly illustrated with appropriately mysterious, dramatic artwork, clearly influenced by M. C. Escher’s work.”— The Horn Book

“The Dillons’ interpretation works well intellectually and aesthetically.”— Booklist

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1955

About the author

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Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.
Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).
The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".

Community Reviews

Rating(3.8 / 5.0, 49 votes)
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49 reviews All reviews
April 26,2025
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I thought the art and the rhyme scheme was very well done, I like the repetition of the 'Night' always being capitalized, as if it's alive (though perhaps that's kind of the point). Not sure how I feel about the little girl character who is drawn with black features being described as having a 'face as white as the moon', was an odd choice I thought. Aside from that one line and the message it conveys, I did like the story.
April 26,2025
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I really enjoyed the concept of this book. One I will definately read to my kids as they get older and develop fears.
April 26,2025
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Очарователна история и прекрасни илюстрации, двете в комбинация създават едно такова приятно, топло и уютно усещане. ♡
April 26,2025
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Илюстрациите заслужават да ги спомена специално. Страхотно издание!
April 26,2025
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I never knew that Ray Bradbury wrote a children's picture book. This is such a fun story.

Full review on my blog.
http://buildinglifelongreaders.blogsp...
April 26,2025
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A lovely alternative to switching off the light a plunging into the terror of a dark room. Bradbury at his best. The Dillions use Escher-like pictures to portray fear, and brilliant nearly neon pointillism to portray happier states. An excellent picture book.
April 26,2025
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Excellent story. It's too bad Bradbury never did more children's books; his prose style is well suited to them. And the illustrations to this later edition are very good (though I would like to see the 1955 original someday). The Dillons' work here evokes both M.C. Escher and Chris Van Allsburg.
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