Lucy and Darkness
This wild, action-packed book is a bewitching tribute to the night.
Lucy is scared – she can hear a voice from under her bed. When she peers down, she finds Donker, who isn’t half as frightening as she thought. You just have to get to know him. A picture book for anyone who’s ever been scared of the dark.
Lucy can’t get off to sleep. She’s afraid of the dark. If only it were light! If only this night were over, she thinks to herself. Then she hears a voice coming from under her bed. “Donker’s the name,” the voice says.
Donker manages to calm Lucy and take her – and teddy bear Watje – on a journey into the night, which turns out to be full of life. Journeying over the dunes, they enter the forest. Lucy, awestruck, says to Donker: “You’re everywhere.”
Donker shows her how much there is to see once your eyes adjust: deer and foxes dashing here and there,long-eared hares and a whole world of new smells and sounds. The once terrifying Donker becomes Lucy’s guide in this unknown world. “You know, when you’re here, you can’t see where one thing starts and the other ends. At night, you’re both here and there.”
Karst-Janneke Rogaar has written and illustrated an utterly charming picture book, offering an entertaining yet profound exploration of the dark. Turning each page, your eyes seem to become more accustomed to the darkness as you discover more and more of the night. The dark charcoal sketches reveal more and more.
Special Mention Bologna Ragazzi Award 2026 fiction
Extraordinary charcoal illustrations
Poetic and philosophical language
Meets young minds at their level
Karst-Janneke Rogaar (1975) is an award-winning illustrator. She grew up in the Dutch town of Wageningen and studied Fine Art in London and at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. She makes children’s books, book covers, infographics, prints for museums, illustrations for publications, film and theatre posters, autonomous art and more. Her style as an illustrator is characterised by intuitive lines and a specific palette, testifying to her great care as an artist, fascination with everyday details and sense of humour. Karst-Janneke Rogaar illustrated the Gouden Griffel award-winning novel Spinder by Simon van der Geest with whom she has collaborated on many other projects. In 2019, she received a Zilveren Penseel for the book Vriendschap is alles, made in collaboration with Stine Jensen. She has produced illustrations for stories by writers including Evelien De Vlieger and Mohana van den Kroonenberg. She wrote and illustrated three critically acclaimed books to help children improve their Dutch spelling. Lucy en Donker, her first picture book, is dedicated to the beauty of the night.