The Darkest Dark; Chris Hadfield, illustrated by The Fan Brothers

The Darkest Dark is a picture book that retells the story of how real-life astronaut Chris Hadfield grew from a young boy who enjoyed pretending he was an astronaut with a fear of the dark to realising his dreams and spending many months in space and flying round the earth thousands of times.

Chris loves pretending to be an astronaut. He is always too busy to do the normal things like having a bath or going to bed as he is saving the planet from aliens or is on a very important mission to Mars. There is one thing that Chris doesn’t love though and that is the dark. The dark is scary and attracts the wrong sort of aliens. But one night everything changes and Chris sees the magic that is to be found in even the darkest dark…

As a young boy, Chris, like many children, was scared of the dark. His parents would verify that his room was free-from any alien life before Chris could settle into dreams of flying his own spaceship all the way to the Moon. Chris was pretending to be an astronaut at the same time Neil Armstrong was facing the reality of flying into space and becoming the first man to ever set foot onto the surface of the Moon. As Chris witnessed the event in a crowded living room at the house of a neighbour he instantly knew what he wanted to be in life. And Chris would achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut.

This delightful picture book is a celebration of overcoming fears and realising dreams. It is a wonderful story and is expertly illustrated by the incredibly talented Fan Brothers. After the story there is lots of additional information about Chris Hadfield that provide detail on his childhood, his career as an astronaut and what he has done since he stopped flying into space. A personal message from Chris is complimented by several photographs of him growing up and of his time in space.

For any child with big dreams of flying into space this is a must read. In fact, any child with dreams of being anything should read this as Chris shows that little people can achieve the biggest of dreams. “The dark is for dreams - and morning is for making them come true.” Chris Hadfield.

Recommended for 5+.