The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark

The much-beloved children’s classic story about Plop, the baby owl – as read by the Duchess of Cambridge on BBC’s CBeebies Bedtime Stories to mark Mental Health Week

Plop, the Baby Barn Owl, is like every Barn Owl there ever was, except for one thing – he is afraid of the dark.

“Dark is nasty” he says and so he won’t go hunting with his parents. Mrs Barn Owl sends him down from his nest-hole to ask about the dark and he meets a little boy waiting for the fireworks to begin, an old lady, a scout out camping, a girl who tells him about Father Christmas, a man with a telescope and a black cat who takes him exploring.

Perhaps there is magic in the dark after all . . .

Filled with gentle humour and giving comforting reassurance to nightime fears and anxieties, Jill Tomlinson’s animal bedtime stories have been enjoyed by children for decades.

This edition of The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark is beautifully illustrated by Paul Howard.