When the lights went out by Lian Tanner and Jonathan Bentley

A wonderfully affirming book about community and family, this story shows what happens in one street when the lights go out. At first the child is scared, but Mama and Dad make a game, an adventure in the dark as Dad lights a match and the family finds its way upstairs to get some candles. Coming downstairs, the explorers hear music. It is their neighbour Mrs Martinez playing her guitar. The family gets rugged up and walks outside to find other neighbours have joined them, and they smile and laugh and sing. Mrs Martinez plays sad songs and brave songs and ones that make them tap their feet and sway in the cold night air. The community dances with Mr Harada, and just when the night is almost over and they are all yawning, the lights come back on. They go back to their own homes, with the small child wrapped up in bed, hoping it happens again.

A gentle story about neighbourhoods, of people coming together, is told in this understated tale. The people react to the light going out by sharing their resources, coming out of their houses to greet their neighbours. They commune together on this cold dark night, reassuring the young and strengthening the ties in their street.

Bentley’s illustrations are wonderful, creating a street where people know each other, their little single-fronted cottages showing an inner-city suburb containing a diverse range of people. The candle on the front cover lights the way for the family as the dark falls around them, soothing the fears of the child on Dad’s back. Outside, the cold bites the reader just as it does the families singing together.

The pencil and watercolour images will stay in the readers’ mind long after the last page is read. And they will turn back to feel again the warmth in the dark street as the people all come together. The usual inhabitants of the night, foxes and owls, keep watch on the intruders in their domain, and can be seen taking back their territory once the families return home.

There are so many touches that say family and warmth and togetherness: the crocheted quilt cover on the child’s bed, the scarves and coats worn by those who come into the street, the smiles on the faces of the children, the warmth radiating from the candles, the almost sad faces when the light comes back on, the warmth of the light shining through the windows of the houses. All of these underscores the feelings the community radiates.

Themes: Community, Family, Light, Reassurance, Humour.

Fran Knight