I have been doing my reading of the picture books again as I needed a break from all the tough subject readings I had been doing (and plan on doing. Book two of The Teen Killer Club is now in my TBR stack). And two delightful finds are written about below. One is nonfiction and about how awesome animals are (with an adorable badger in the hoosegow, don’t worry, it’ll make sense) and the other has a fiction take on the nonfiction concept of anxiety, fears and fear of the dark in particular. While radically different, I think the same child would be excited to have these for a holiday treat.Orion and the Dark by Emma Yarlett was a book I had sent to me from the publisher. I had forgotten I had requested it, so when it arrived, it was a lovely surprise. The story itself was nice, too. It felt familiar,therefore I was thinking either I had forgotten I had read it, skimmed it or it is just a story that is known by us (being afraid of things and especially the dark) as it is a common subject in books. Yet, regardless if this was the first or 100th time, it was the artwork that made things fun. They are dark, but have the shadows of light within and around the objects. This gives everything a soft feeling of being cozy and safe, even with Orion looking for the monsters under the bed and other hiding places. And there are clever details while keeping things simple. There are two pages where a “hand” comes out and hugs Orion on the opposite page, giving a little something different. Overall, a sweet story about overcoming fears and a special friendship.