WARNING! Child in Charge! Lights Out, Leonard! by Josh Pyke

LEONARD WAS NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK.

THAT WOULD BE SILLY.

It's not the dark. No, it's those denizens of the deep dark of his bedroom that give Leonard the willies!

"THERE'S A THREE HEADED, EIGHT-ARMED TWELVE-LEGGED, HAIRY, SCARY-FACED CREATURE IN THE CORNER! PLEASE, LEAVE THE LIGHTS ON!"

Mom agrees to leave the lights on for five minutes, while she goes downstairs to settle down with Dad on the couch in front of the TV. Leonard is half-asleep when Dad comes up to switch off the light for what he hopes is the final lights-out of the night.

"NO!"

Leonard tells Dad about the scaly-waily critter waiting in the corner and begs him to leave the lights on. Dad gives him another five minutes of light and goes downstairs to put on the teakettle. After a while, both parents peek in to check on Leonard. His eyes are closed and he looks like he is asleep, but when Mom switches off the lamp, Leonard pops up, claiming there is a bat-winged, fangy beast now holding down the designated monster spot in that corner.

The lights stay on all night. Leonard's mom and dad grow tired of the nightly routine. But like it or not, Leonard's monsters make their appearance every night, and his light stays on, a beacon to the whole neighborhood.

But one day there is a mysterious but intriguing book on his bed, HOW TO FRIGHTEN MONSTERS. On the last page is a tear-out poster, sharing a list of some little-known monster repellants:

1. MINTY BREATH. (Shrivels monsters to dust)

2. TIDY BEDROOMS (Offers no place to hide)

3. TEDDY BEARS, ETC, (Eject foes through ceiling)

4. GENTLE MUSIC (Dries up monsters like old playdough)

5. PARENTAL KISSES (Produces a parental spit force-field that sucks monsters away, never to return)

Empowered, Leonard makes a proud poster for his bedroom door:

BEWARE OF THE CHILD

And now the lights go out every night at bedtime, right after Leonard gets a big, juicy bedtime kiss from Mom, in the illustrations Josh Pyke om this jolly bedtime tale of the things that go bump in the night. Not since the classic book by Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are took back the night and outsmarted his monstrous nemeses has there been a bedtime story quite like this one--author Josh Pyke's empathetic tale of the bedtime terrors, Lights Out, Leonard. (available from Amazon). Artist Chris Nixon provides just the right shadowy deep blue and charcoal black background illustrations, contrasted with the burnt orange of little Leonard in his foxy pajamas, perfect companions to this clever story of weary parents and vanquished nighttime bugaboos. Let there be light for all the Leonards who need it in the night!