This charming tale of a young family literally rocked by the appearance of a black dog on their property, is sure to grip young and old readers alike from the first page.

Wanda the little witch loves school, but she's a little shy - and very nervous about the school magic contest! So much to explore, so many details, in the illustrations from the small panels on each of the two-page spreads to the large color illustration (except for when Small first meets the Black Dog, which of course needs to dominate the two pages). The visually stunning illustrations which accompany the text also help reinforce the metaphor and invite high levels of inference from the children.

Levi has recently turned his talents to creating exquisite pieces for the 20th anniversary house editions of the Harry Potter series. The youngest of the Hope family turns out to be the bravest, facing a fear that none of her family wanted to do.

Only Small, the youngest of the Hopes, has the courage to face the Black Dog that appears outside the family’s home. With its frosty cover and thick pages, it could be a cherished favorite in anyone's home, to be experienced time after time. The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report.

As this is a book aimed at small children I wasn't sure this was an altogether good message, there's a massive dog that everyone is scared of so you could be seen as a hero to go and make friends with it? The family's dialogue has a comforting feel to it, with just enough repetition so kids can get familiar or help in the storytelling.