An intrepid brother and sister duo explores a dark, dark cave filled with strange and wondrous sights and sounds in this beautifully poetic celebration of the power of a child’s imagination.
Hoffman’s spare, rhyming text draws readers deeper and deeper into the story, using the repetitive phrase “a dark, dark cave” to encourage young readers to read along and participate.
The pale moon glows
as a cold wind blows
through a dark, dark cave.
Bats in flight
disappear from sight
in a dark, dark cave.
As the children progress through the cave, their surroundings seem to grow darker, and smaller, and spookier….until a surprise visit from dad reveals that the cave is actually constructed from chairs and blankets strewn around the living room, and has been brought to life through the imagination of our young explorers!
This fun, creative story will hopefully inspire young readers to create their own magical worlds to explore together, and is a wonderful celebration of unplugged, independent, child-led play.
Raincity Librarian 
Oh, this looks/sounds SO kid-friendly! Such a fun concept with intriguing, lyrical words. Thanks for sharing!
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You’re very welcome, thanks for visiting! 🙂
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This sounds like the kind of book my children would have LOVED when they were younger. Thanks for the peek!
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It’s so much fun, and so kid friendly. 🙂
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This may be just the Halloween book for my granddaughters, Jane. It sounds terrific. Thanks for sharing–new to me!
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It’s a perfect Halloween book – a little spooky, but not too spooky. 😉
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This book sounds perfectly delightful! I can just hear the chorus of spellbound kids chiming in “in a dark, dark cave.” Thanks for sharing!
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Yes, I love repetitive refrains, they’re such a great way to get kids hooked on a story! 🙂
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I love that in ends up being a homemade, imaginary cave! A great gift would be this book and a couple of sheets. 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
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Oh, what a fun idea!! We do a family fort night program at the library and it’s a lot of fun – we provide tables and sheets, and families build little tents and read picture books together, very sweet!
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What an awesome idea! My kids would have LOVED that. I love the book, too. Makes me remembering being a little kid and hiding. Giggling. Hiding.
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A good choice for story hours! And I like that you actually build tents at your library, Jane!
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Our family fort nights are so much fun, and they’re really easy to do, which is definitely something I look for in a library program! 😉
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Oooh, a companion to “A Dark, Dark Tale”! And I adore books about how to play, like “Roxaboxen” and “Mattland”. Thanks, Jane!
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Yes! Unstructured play is such an important part of a healthy childhood!
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What a perfect book to teach with and enjoy!
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This sounds like a wonderful storytime option! Thank you for sharing!! 😊
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