Book Review : Brady Needs a Nightlight

Title : Brady Needs a Nightlight

Author : Brian Barlics

Illustrator : Gregory Burgess Jones

Publisher : Black Rose Printing

ISBN : 978-1-61296-195-8

'Brady Needs a Nightlight' is an endearing tale of a little bat - Brady. Though Bats are supposed to be sleeping during the day, Brady likes to enjoy the day time - playing and staying awake. He does not like the dark caves where the rest of the bats sleep during day time. Darkness scares him and he is afraid to close his eyes to sleep. He spends most of the time staying awake and watching other bats sleeping deeply.

Nights are no better for Brady either when all other bats are up and ready to go out and play. The darkness all around, the spooky sounds of animals and insects at night add to his fright. Brady finds no peace anytime of the day or night, he feels like crying. But there are some tiny creatures who sparkle and glimmer in dark. Brady gets a brilliant idea. Can he use these glistening small flies as his very own personal nightlight? Will  he be able to win over the darkness that seems to be engulfing him all the time? Children must read the story to find out how Brady conquers his fears and how a smile returns to his face because of his new found friends.

I love such children's books where the information is very casually entwined in the story rather than making it the prime focus. Children are made aware of the physical features of bats, their nocturnal characteristics, their physical features, their sleep patterns and their unique sleeping styles.  Moreover, the story addresses an issue which is very commonly faced by young children when they are learning to put themselves to sleep without any aide. The issue of getting scared of dark and not wanting to shut the eyes close to fall asleep. The good part is Brady tries to find a solution to his problem and when he gets an idea he first goes to talk it over with his mother. All these are wonderful points in the book which very subtly convey the message to the young readers. Moreover, these are great places in the story where children can be encouraged to talk about their individual fears or the things that bother them without being judgmental. Children will be able to identify with the lovable character Brady.

'Brady Needs a Nightlight' is the first story from the series called 'Fundamentale', a collection of tales that are created to kindle the imagination of young readers.