The Owl Who was Afraid of the Dark is a children's book by Jill Tomlinson, of which there is also an audio version read by Maureen Lipman[1] for those unable to read at the current stage in their life. It was first published in 1968, with a 2001 abridged edition illustrated by Paul Howard.[2]
The story is about a young barn owl called Plop, who has a problem with the dark. The plot is divided into seven little chapters. Each one is a satisfying tale in which Plop learns something new about the dark each night: dark is exciting, dark is kind, dark is fun, dark is necessary, dark is fascinating, dark is wonderful and dark is beautiful. Plop isn't convinced immediately, but by the seventh night he's looking at the dark.
The book is very educational as it enlightens children as to what constellations are, especially Orion's belt. With this in mind it has been adapted as a show at the London Planetarium.[3] There have been stage adaptations of the book by Simon Reade[4] and Tina Williams[5]
The book has been recommended by clinicians for treatment of fear of the dark.[6]