Ray is a spectacular picture book which explores a story of adventure, while addressing fears of the dark and the unknown.

Throughout the tale, Mouse takes a lovely walk outdoors when time escapes him and the sun begins to set. He quickly becomes ‘terrified’ and sobs by himself until a helpful firefly appears and asks Mouse to follow him. His reassuring words ‘I’m Ray and I’ll light your way’, are repeated throughout the story as different creatures join Mouse on a quest back home through the darkness. There are many simple, yet fun opportunities for children to retell the story. For example, a story map is used to tell the way back home: ‘My house is past the woodpile, around the cactuses, up by the pond and just beyond the rocks’.

Alex Latimer’s illustrations beautifully capture a contrast between dark and light. On each page, the animals confuse a shadow for something frightening, only for the firefly to reveal that things are not always what they seem. The silhouette of a snake turns out to be just an innocent log pile. Similarly, a frightening shadow of a bear transpires to be just a cactus- phew!

Children can both enjoy and identify with the fears cleverly alleviated through this story, with many opportunities to join in. Latimer creates the story through rhyming couplets, reminiscent of many classic children’s stories. With a clever twist at the end, this story can be enjoyed by children, teachers and parents as a bedtime story or teaching tool.