''The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark'' is a children's book by

Jill Tomlinson Jill is an English feminine given name, a short form of the name Jillian (Gillian), which in turn originates as a Middle English variant of Juliana (disambiguation), Juliana, the feminine form of the name Julian (given name), Julian. People wit ...

, of which there is also an audio version read by

Maureen Lipman Dame Maureen Diane Lipman (born 10 May 1946) is an English actress, writer and comedian. She trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and her stage work has included appearances with the National Theatre and the Royal Shakesp ...

. It was published in 1968, illustrated by

Joanne Cole Joanne Cole (6 June 1934 – 7 August 1985) was a British artist and illustrator. She most notably produced numerous children's books in the 1960s through to the 1980s. She also created artwork and puppets for British TV children's programmes. ...

, and an abridged edition illustrated by Paul Howard published in 2001. The story is about a young

barn owl The barn owl (''Tyto alba'') is the most widely distributed species of owl in the world and one of the most widespread of all species of birds, being found almost everywhere except for the polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Himalaya ...

called Plop, who is frightened of the dark. The plot is divided into seven chapters, each covering a night during which Plop learns something new about the dark: dark is exciting, dark is kind, dark is fun, dark is necessary, dark is fascinating, dark is wonderful and dark is beautiful. Plop is gradually persuaded that the dark has its advantages. The book shows what

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

s are, especially Orion's belt, and has been adapted as a show at the

London Planetarium The London Planetarium building is located on Marylebone Road, London. It is adjacent to and owned by Madame Tussauds. It previously housed a planetarium, offering shows related to space and astronomy. In 2006, it closed as a separate attractio ...

. There have been stage adaptations of the book by

Simon Reade Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genu ...

and

Tina Williams Tina may refer to: People * Tina (given name), people and fictional characters with the given name ''Tina'' Places *Tina, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran *Tina, Tunisia, a town in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia *Tina, Guadalcanal, Solomon ...

The book has been recommended by clinicians for treatment of

fear of the dark Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Some degree of ...

. On 13 February 2022, the BBC broadcast the story on their CBeebies Bedtime Story programme, read by

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Princess of Wales, (born Catherine Elizabeth Middleton; 9 January 1982) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to William, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the British throne, making Catherine the likely next ...

References

British children's books British picture books 1968 children's books Books about night Fictional owls {{child-picture-book-stub