This bedtime story sets an unsettling mood for the opening scenes of "The Hanging Garden," a British television production of [a:Ian Rankin|33031|Ian Rankin|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1270338491p2/33031.jpg]'s book. Its use there set off a little mystery of its own, as viewers sought the source of the haunting voiceover, which did not appear in the book. Rankin remained mum. (see [b:The Hanging Garden|507992|The Hanging Garden (Inspector Rebus, #9)|Ian Rankin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1316125632s/507992.jpg|496016]) ( )

While reviews on the back of the book claim this book will be a favourite with young children and a classic, at least one child was very non-plussed by this book. There are various sections that are quite scary, and there is no real resolution of the fear - the message seems to be that the dark is scary, and that is it. While my three year old was not out-right afraid, he was very concerned as I read the 'scary' bits, and didn't enjoy this book at all. ( )