Who's afraid of the light? by Anna McGregor

Dive deep into the dark and meet a very special creature!

The bright, flashy cover makes way for a peaceful scene on the ocean, with two cool seagulls directed readers down, down, down to the bottom of the ocean. Go deeper and deeper past the titles pages until you finally come to first spread, where it's completely black. The narrator's words stand out in bright white and a rainbow-colored speech bubble introduces an unseen deep-sea creature - Fergus! "Oh, hello! What a thrill to meet a real deep-sea creature."

Fergus isn't scared of the dark - the dark is safe! But the narrator wants to see Fergus and as the mysterious creature drops clues, a picture starts to be created. Meanwhile, bioluminescent creatures approach, much to the apparent dismay of Fergus. An anglerfish, a spookfish, and vampire squid. But each time they disappear, much to Fergus's relief. Where are they going? And will we ever get to meet Fergus?

Turns out the narrator has a camera with a flash... is Fergus the cute little fish we expected? Or does Fergus know what happened to all those other creatures...

A simple page of back matter adds information about each creature, including Fergus, the gulper eel, and some aspects of deep sea life.

Verdict: Bright, colorful (possibly glow-in-the-dark but I did not test this) art and a light-hearted storyline make this informational book a sure winner for storytime or classroom read-alouds.

ISBN: 9781957363431; Published 2023 by Scribble; Purchased for the library