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If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow
"If tomorrow morning the sky falls...have clouds for breakfast. If you have butterflies in your stomach...ask them into your heart." ...such are the unconventional solutions offered to lifes problems in If Youre Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow . The original edition, published in 1979, won numerous awards, including honors from the Museum of Modern Art and the American Booksellers Association, and sold over a million copies. Edenss magical words and pictures illustrate the universal emotions of fear, doubt, joy, and loss, and reveal the unexpected silver linings to be found in any cloud. This whimsical little book proves that its possible to face obstacles with a positive attitude; all you need is the willingness to throw aside logic and open yourself up to the power of playful imagination.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
2 people are currently reading
198 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
June 29, 2023
I am in love with this book. Cooper Edens has a gift for imagination and here he pieces together art and narrative that is almost poetic. I love it not only because it is comforting but because it is out of the ordinary with wonderful art to take you along.
You won't be sorry if you read this magical book.
You won't be sorry if you read this magical book.
June 27, 2022
"If you lose a memory...embroider a new one to take its place."
�If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow
The illustrations and quiet importance of this book (particularly the former element) scared me some when I was very, very small, but there is a lot of good in the story, and it certainly has more depth than most such picture books. If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow is a thought-provoking read.
"If there is no happy ending...make one out of cookie dough."
�If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow
�If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow
The illustrations and quiet importance of this book (particularly the former element) scared me some when I was very, very small, but there is a lot of good in the story, and it certainly has more depth than most such picture books. If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow is a thought-provoking read.
"If there is no happy ending...make one out of cookie dough."
�If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow
June 5, 2011
Atypically for me I read these backwards (not that it matters one whit with these particular books) and read first and while I usually am not enamored of these types of books, I really liked that one and liked this one.
The illustrations are lovely. The sayings fold into one another in a lovely way, noe leading the way to the next. The sayings in this book, overall, didn’t touch me quite as much as in the other book, but though I tend to be derisive about pop psych, inspirational, and other such books, I found this one to be sweet and thought provoking. Not as good as its sequel though, at least not for me. Thought I read it first, I love that I liked this author’s second such book better than the first book; that doesn’t typically happen. The illustrations in both these books are terrific.
The illustrations are lovely. The sayings fold into one another in a lovely way, noe leading the way to the next. The sayings in this book, overall, didn’t touch me quite as much as in the other book, but though I tend to be derisive about pop psych, inspirational, and other such books, I found this one to be sweet and thought provoking. Not as good as its sequel though, at least not for me. Thought I read it first, I love that I liked this author’s second such book better than the first book; that doesn’t typically happen. The illustrations in both these books are terrific.
October 13, 2009
The best book I've ever read, and the pictures are great.This book is not just a children's book... it will draw you into it's spell and you'll want to look at it again and again and again.
December 21, 2019
So sweet!
February 6, 2013
HOLY CATS YOU GUYS.
I've been looking for this book since the early 90s. I babysat for a family that had this, but all I could remember about it was "it had weird 70s pictures, one of which showed someone wearing a lightbulb as a necklace" and "it had the story structure 'if you're something, then something'."
So of course I could never find it and was starting to think it didn't exist, or was some weird self-published Montana thing. It remained a mystery, until today. Today I found it sitting on the desk in the Friends of the Library bookstore, a $2 pricetag slapped on it.
$2 is a small price to pay for solving this long lost mystery, I say!
I've been looking for this book since the early 90s. I babysat for a family that had this, but all I could remember about it was "it had weird 70s pictures, one of which showed someone wearing a lightbulb as a necklace" and "it had the story structure 'if you're something, then something'."
So of course I could never find it and was starting to think it didn't exist, or was some weird self-published Montana thing. It remained a mystery, until today. Today I found it sitting on the desk in the Friends of the Library bookstore, a $2 pricetag slapped on it.
$2 is a small price to pay for solving this long lost mystery, I say!
March 8, 2022
I found this book while I was cleaning. While visiting sisters in California in 1979, I purchased it. It’s sweet, simple, and weird. Like me! I read it several times today, to lift my heart and spirits. It’s been over 15 years since I last read it.
Inside are unique solutions for everyday problems, beautifully illustrated by Cooper Edens, who also came up with the problems, which are written in a calligraphied hand. Butterflies in your stomach? Invite them into your heart! Afraid of the dark? Go out and look for the night rainbow (ring around the moon at night that signals good weather the next day). Sun not shining? Cold? Hold fireflies in your hands.
I will keep this book by my bedside. It will help me sleep, or help me wake in a positive spirit.
Inside are unique solutions for everyday problems, beautifully illustrated by Cooper Edens, who also came up with the problems, which are written in a calligraphied hand. Butterflies in your stomach? Invite them into your heart! Afraid of the dark? Go out and look for the night rainbow (ring around the moon at night that signals good weather the next day). Sun not shining? Cold? Hold fireflies in your hands.
I will keep this book by my bedside. It will help me sleep, or help me wake in a positive spirit.
July 17, 2023
I love this book now, as an adult- the whimsy and uplifting heartfelt imagery, but when I first read it, I was 5 years old, and it made me feel confused and sad (and truthfully a little alarmed). Maybe an adult could have read it with me and helped me to understand the concepts?
Then, I took it very literally. I had no concept of the theory of positive thinking, and I wasn't sure how if you felt a way that I could embroider anything to assist changing the feeling. However, this book just "stayed" with me, so I found another copy as a grown up, and I love it now like an old friend with sweet wisdom to share and a comforting hand to hold.
Then, I took it very literally. I had no concept of the theory of positive thinking, and I wasn't sure how if you felt a way that I could embroider anything to assist changing the feeling. However, this book just "stayed" with me, so I found another copy as a grown up, and I love it now like an old friend with sweet wisdom to share and a comforting hand to hold.
August 10, 2019
This is a most gorgeous book. I love everything about it. My daughter loved having it read to her. It seems a little ridiculous on the surface which is fun but one could argue there are some actual life lessons and philosophies that could be applied to many of the silly suggestions. For example: "If there is no happy ending, make one out of cookie dough." I interpret this to mean if there is no happy ending, then construct your own. Your happiness is in your hands.
Truly a marvelous book that is a little hard to find but I wish everyone had a copy to read to their kids.
Truly a marvelous book that is a little hard to find but I wish everyone had a copy to read to their kids.
April 5, 2018
Lovely little book about making the best out of the worst situations. Whimsical language with pretty illustrations. Came to me at a very timely period if my life when I've been feeling a lot of negativity and anger at my circumstances. I think this is a great book for anyone to read no matter what their age.
July 10, 2018
I love the thought but some of the illustrations are a shade creepy. I mean, ultimately, that probably earns it more stars in my book but take that as a head's up if you're actually trying to unscare a child. (The face changing clown/night rainbow one in particular).
January 11, 2021
This is good for adults or children. Here's some truly out-of-the-box thinking for situations that seem to be an impasse. "If your heart catches in your throat ask a bird how how she sings" is just one of the many examples in this illustrated pictured book poem
October 11, 2018
This is a magical book with amazing illustrations! It will take you on a trip to dreamland, and help children who have a fear of the dark.
February 7, 2020
This is one of my all time favorite books. I need it’s gentle uplift right now.
March 23, 2020
Very nice artwork
May 8, 2020
Another precious book by Cooper Edens
May 22, 2020
This is the most beautiful book ever.
November 15, 2021
Beautiful, fun, and uplifting
May 16, 2022
Sweet little book.
November 12, 2022
This book is kinda like an overwhelming dream... In a fun way?! I love to collect vintage children's books, so this is right up my alley. It's a bit quirky and nonsensical. It's whimsical. Enjoy!
July 15, 2023
if there is no happy ending make one out of cookie dough :)
August 8, 2023
A great children's book 😁
October 12, 2023
An imaginative look at what to do when the sky falls.
November 4, 2023
On of my all time books why iam a writer today.
March 13, 2023
Proof that picture books can be appreciated and enjoyed by adults.
Picture books are, in my reading experience, one of the most underrated art forms in our era of hastily, thoughtlessly, mass-produced twaddle. But I digress...
'If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow' is 40 pages of gorgeous illustrations by author and illustrator Cooper Edens done in the technicolor palette of the 70s (though not quite psychedelic).
The glass half full energy of 'The Night Rainbow' shines through not only in its colorful artwork, but also in the sometimes quirky ("If you find your socks don't match, stand in a flowerbed"), sometimes absurdist ("If you lose the key, throw away the house"), sometimes whimsical ("If you have butterflies in your stomach, ask them into your heart") advice it offers readers.
Any child would love reading along (maybe making up their own answers to each dilemma) and as an adult I thought it was a lovely excuse to flip through pretty pictures and discover the night rainbow.
Picture books are, in my reading experience, one of the most underrated art forms in our era of hastily, thoughtlessly, mass-produced twaddle. But I digress...
'If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow' is 40 pages of gorgeous illustrations by author and illustrator Cooper Edens done in the technicolor palette of the 70s (though not quite psychedelic).
The glass half full energy of 'The Night Rainbow' shines through not only in its colorful artwork, but also in the sometimes quirky ("If you find your socks don't match, stand in a flowerbed"), sometimes absurdist ("If you lose the key, throw away the house"), sometimes whimsical ("If you have butterflies in your stomach, ask them into your heart") advice it offers readers.
Any child would love reading along (maybe making up their own answers to each dilemma) and as an adult I thought it was a lovely excuse to flip through pretty pictures and discover the night rainbow.
August 11, 2016
One could just as well rip out the drawings and put them on the dorm room wall of any student indulging in the arts, psychedelia, or philosophy. I love the strands of art nouveau threaded through the psychedelic fantasia reminiscent of many different eras; from the Victorian Alice in Wonderland-type madness to 1930's smoky jazz club surrealism to the 1960's and 70's rainbow celebration of inner-child imagination as seen in Yellow Submarine and Sesame Street.
The words fall into a poem suitable for all ages - not in a cloying, fun-for-the-whole-family, packaged sort of way, but in that children, teenagers, and adults will all appreciate it, albeit differently. It narrowly avoids sounding too self-helpish, and makes me hungry for strawberries.
The words fall into a poem suitable for all ages - not in a cloying, fun-for-the-whole-family, packaged sort of way, but in that children, teenagers, and adults will all appreciate it, albeit differently. It narrowly avoids sounding too self-helpish, and makes me hungry for strawberries.
March 3, 2024
I read this to my 7, 4.5, 3, and 1 year old. The illustrations were enjoyed by all but the what to do whens the children came up with as we read each page were far more entertaining, almost as whimsical, and usually more actionable than those offered in the book. I should have written them down. Overall not one of our favorites.
January 21, 2008
This book is a constant reminder for me about the perspective on life I want to keep. There is virtually always a way to find something good in the world or in a situation, we just need to look for it.
January 23, 2008
This book began toning my imagination muscles before I can remember. I know it by heart. Whitman says that once a being is all the way enlightened, his or her very flesh becomes a poem. I think my flesh will become this poem when I achieve nirvana.
May 22, 2012
Great Book ! Isn´t it what life should be all about dreamers ? We all are dreamers so keep dreaming ! There is always an answer to every single problem, if you dont have it yet... read ! Great book ! I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing it with me Soleluna !
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
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