Pistes d'exploration

Discuss what was making the family so scared. Why do you think Small was not afraid? What did the family realize when the dog eventually came into the house?

Talk with a partner about things you used to be scared of, and how you realized you didn’t need to be scared after all.

In your journal, write some advice for people who are scared of dogs.

Notice the secondary story unfolding on the opposite page. Why might an author or illustrator do this? Compare this technique to the one in Something From Nothing by Phoebe Gilman.

Identify the sequence of events in the story using ordinal numbers. Who first saw the dog? Who was second? Third? What did Small make the dog do first? Where was the second place they went to? Next?

Discuss the different suggested solutions. Who had the best solution? Why? What would you have done in the same situation? What happened in the end? What should you do when you are afraid?

Write about your own pet (if you have one) or describe your ideal pet.

Analyze the front and back covers, and discuss your predictions as a group. Do a quick-write based on the discussion.

After discussing your understanding of the story in a small group, individually summarize the plot in a concise paragraph.

This story about facing one’s fears uses the black dog as a symbol. What other stories, videos or songs do this as well?

The Dark, When Lions Roar

Mots-clés

Picture book , courage , dogs , families , fear , multiple stories , overcoming fears

Commentaire descriptif

There is a black dog in the yard of the Hope family home. Mr. Hope sees it first: “ ‘My goodness!’ He cried, dropping his toast. He didn't waste any time calling the police.” Tongue-in-cheek formality pervades the language of this amusing tale. Mrs. Hope drops her mug of tea when she spies the creature. Adeline drops her toothbrush. Maurice drops his teddy bear. With each sighting, the dog gets bigger and more extreme measures are taken to block out the potential intruder. The illustrations are gorgeous—in a hyper-realistic style that perfectly reflects the magic-realism of the story. Young readers will likely pore over the full-page colour pictures and the attending monochrome sketches that work together to create rich, visual backstory. The youngest, Small Hope, is unruffled by the dog. She leads it on a merry chase through places only a smaller dog might follow and finally through the cat-flap in the Hope’s back door, to become the newest member of the family. This ingenious representation of conquering fear may inspire children to share their own methods for managing stress and the unknown.