It's Too Dark, Puffling

For little ones scared of the dark … another Skellig Island adventure in the Puffling series. This time, the adorable baby puffin is helping a little puffin pal who is scared of the dark. Together they visit a playful rabbit, a happy crab, a friendly blue shark and other animals on Skellig. Each one tells the little puffling what they love most about the dark, and Puffling helps her little friend not to be afraid any more

-- Irish Times

Little Puffling lives on Skellig Michael and is trying to reassure her even smaller puffling friend that the dark is nothing to be afraid of. But the tiny puffling is having none of it. “I don’t like the dark,” he says. “It’s too dark in the dark.” Can Little Puffling change her friend’s mind? This simple, charming story is brought to glowing night-time life by Daly’s magical illustrations

-- Irish Independent, Sarah Webb

gorgeous night time story … This gorgeous book is such a sweet and reassuring bedtime story. It’s also a celebration of Irish wildlife and a wonderful nature book too

-- Milo & Gigi’s Bookshelf

the latest instalment in the story of the gorgeous pufflings on Skellig Michael. We are introduced to puffin beaks, a fulmar, a guillemot and blue shark. Fulmars love the nighttime but little puffling is scared of the dark. Blue Shark loves the dark too, but little puffling is still not sure. It is a beautiful book, with perfect for stories before bed

-- Tertulia Bookshop in the Mayo News

5 stars ... This charming story takes us back to Skellig Michael and reunites us with the kind little puffling we first met in Where Are you, Puffling? Here she has a smaller puffling friend, who is scared of the dark. He won’t go into his cosy burrow, can’t be convinced by the small rabbit playing hide and seek in the big stone hut, and even the sweep of the lighthouse light, which makes the puffling’s heart warm, can’t cheer him up. Perhaps, we feel, as he looks out at the quiet and the calm of the night and the sea and the hide-and-seek huts, he might be feeling less frightened, but then his puffin parents arrive and, after describing everything he’s seen, he happily goes with them into his dark little burrow which suddenly seems ‘snuggly and cosy and lovely and warm’. Both pufflings are immensely appealing characters and the very young will love the thrill of their moonlit wander across the island, and the reassuring ending. The text is perfect to read aloud, full of repetition, and great for joining in, while the illustrations convey so much information about life on Skellig Michael, from the puffins arriving with fish in their beaks to the fulmars and guillemots on their cliff edge nests. A cross section at the very beginning contains facts about the island wildlife and reveals that puffin beaks glow under UV light. I had no idea!

-- Books for Keeps ‘Book of the Week’

I don’t recall seeing, at least not for quite some time, end pages that start their story, as it is in this case, with facts. A picturebook this most certainly is, however, I love that it is also full of fascinating facts for the reader to turn to before, during or after reading the story! The final end pages are more traditionally filled with pictures and are an equal delight … brings our favourite Puffling back for another adventurous and adorable story. I truly am in love with this ball of fluff!

-- Armadillo

A cuddly hug of a bedtime story with which to curl up on a wild winter’s night

-- The Echo, Pet O’Connell

gorgeous new picture book

-- Connacht Telegraph

Erika McGann and Gerry Daly bring us back to Skellig Michael with this addition to the adventures of Puffling, as she comes across a smaller puffling, all by himself and afraid of the dark. Of course Puffling wants to help, and together they go on an adventure across the island, meeting many of the inhabitants. On each occasion they share the reasons they aren’t scared of the dark, but none of this convinces the little puffling, who repeats his fear that ‘it’s too dark in the dark’. Starting out in bright daylight, the illustrations gradually get darker and darker as night-time approaches, but they never lose their beauty. Each of the animals depicted by Daly has a personality and vividness to them, and the light from the moon and stars seems to shine from the page. This is a gorgeous book that you’ll want to linger over, with little details on almost every page, and text that is clear and easy to read. As well as the illustrations throughout the book there are some beautiful endpapers, and the book opens with some scientific facts about the animals of Skellig Michael that older children and adults might appreciate learning. The story itself is all about kindness and trying to help, but it also shows that sometimes you can’t ease someone else’s fears for them. However, from Puffling we learn that being there and supporting your friend, can be enough to help them through their worries

-- childrensbooksirelan