This item is not eligible for Amazon Prime, but millions of other items are. Join Amazon Prime today. Already a member? Sign in.

10 used & new from $0.92
See All Buying Options

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Tell a Friend
Dark at the Top of the Stairs, The
 
See larger image
 
Are You an Author or Publisher?
Find out how to publish your own Kindle Books
 
  

Dark at the Top of the Stairs, The (Hardcover)

by Sam Mcbratney (Author), Ivan Bates (Illustrator)
4.0 out of 5 stars  (3 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


10 used & new available from $0.92
Also Available in: List Price: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover (Import) Order it used!
Paperback 7 used & new from $5.56
Library Binding (Rebound) Order it used!
 
   

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Recess Queen

The Recess Queen by Alexis O'neill

4.6 out of 5 stars (17)  $11.53
Lemons Are Not Red (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards))

Lemons Are Not Red (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

4.8 out of 5 stars (12) 
Owl Moon

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

4.8 out of 5 stars (53)  $11.55
Explore similar items : Books (3)

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
As in his Guess How Much I Love You, McBratney spins an ample, emotionally ripe tale out of a familiar, even slight premise. A wise old mouse lives with his three young mice in the corner of a cellar, and at bedtime he asks them what they'd like to do the next day. One night, all three clamor to see "the dark at the top of the stairs" where the "monster" lives, and the old mouse, who knows that "sooner or later all young mice will try to see the dark at the top of the stairs," agrees to take them. Perfectly capturing the edgy glee and derring-do of a trip to dangerous territory, McBratney builds the suspense with each well-chosen word. When the four finally reach the door at the top of the stairs, a glimpse of the shadow of a seemingly gigantic cat sends them scurrying ("bumpety-bump and slippity-slide and tumble-thump") back down the staircase, "where they landed in a wriggle and a heap before making a dash for warm, safe, wonderful home." In his picture book debut, Bates provides endearing depictions of these (at least temporarily) bold mice; his compositions and mouse's-eye perspectives create enticingly eerie shadows and angles. Rendered on textured surfaces, his crayon-pencil art at times has the feel of needlepoint, sweetly balancing the shivers in this tale. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 2?McBratney follows up his cozy, warm Guess How Much I Love You (Candlewick, 1995) with a real change of mood. Though their wise old mentor tries to entice them outdoors to play, three young mice insist on seeing what lives behind the dark at the top of the stairs. Its single word?"MEOW"?sends them "bumpety-bump and slippity-slide and tumble-thump" all the way back down. Bates gives readers a mouse's-eye view of the adventure: topped by a towering door, the huge stairs loom above a shadowed, cobwebby, cluttered cellar lit in dim, ominous blues and grays. Like Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury's We're Going on a Bear Hunt (McElderry, 1989), this book invites youngsters to venture out into the unknown, offering the reassurance of a haven at the end, and the exhilaration of a mad scramble to get there.?John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details
  • Reading level: Baby-Preschool
  • Hardcover: 32 pages
  • Publisher: Candlewick (March 7, 1996)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 156402640X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1564026408
  • Product Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.8 x 0.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,644,178 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
    (Publishers and authors: Improve Your Sales)
  • Also Available in: Hardcover (Import) |  Paperback  |  Library Binding (Rebound) |  All Editions