Shadow (Lantana Global Picture Books) - Hardcover

Christopher, Lucy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1911373838 ISBN 13: 9781911373834

Publisher: Lantana Publishing, 2019

Synopsis

In our old house, Ma told me there was nothing to be scared of. No monsters hiding behind doors, or in wardrobes, or under beds. She said there were no dark places at all. But in the new house, under my new bed, that's where I found Shadow.

About this title

About the Author:

Lucy Christopher is the award-winning author of Stolen, Flyaway, The Killing Woods, and Storm-Wake. She is Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, UK, where she has a PhD in Creative Writing.

Anastasia Suvorova is an award-winning children's book illustrator from St. Petersburg, Russia. She is the 2018 winner of the Bologna Children's Book Fair Silent Book Contest.

Review:

"A girl moves into a dusty old house where she encounters Shadow―a dark, shape-shifting figure. As the two play, the girl notices that her mother cannot see Shadow: 'Sometimes Ma couldn't see for days.' After following the being into the woods and becoming lost, the girl finds 'the smallest crack of light,' which leads her to her mother, who is searching for her. The two stand together with their silhouettes cast across the snowy ground―their dual shadows present for the first time―then make their way home, which no longer seems looming and unfamiliar. Suvorova's moody, gray-washed color palette turns from gloomy to full of warmth, and Christopher writes about the trials of liminal states with a light touch and an adept use of familiar metaphors. A well-executed work about the transformative nature of togetherness."―Publishers Weekly

(Journal)

"A child finds a new playmate, but troubles hang like a cloud over the house. After a move, the narrator discovers Shadow, a spectral boy, under the bed. They spend days together, although the narrator's perpetually distracted mother does not perceive Shadow even as his shape changes. Eventually, the two leave and wander into the woods, where Shadow goes off, leaving the child alone in a visually arresting spread that isolates the muffler-clad child on a nearly all-black page. After 'a while, a very long while,' the child reunites with Ma when they recognize each others shadows. The white-presenting pair play and invite diverse new friends over for tea, including a cat that could be Shadow, who is not unwelcome. The digital artwork strategically uses grayscale with red and navy accents. The tale is definitely uncanny, featuring a doppelgänger ('In the dark, Shadow and me were the same'), and the characters' washed-out eyes have an eerie look. Rest assured, there is a happy ending, with the mother present for multiple pages after the woods. Dappled edges and scratched textures embellish the dreamlike atmosphere. Whether seen as a metaphor for fear, grief, depression, or something else, this story professes that denial is not the way to deal with one's troubles; it is better to communicate and be together. Sensitively shines a metaphorical light onto scary but nonetheless real emotions."―Kirkus Reviews

(Journal)

"In her old house, there was no darkness, but in this new house, a young girl finds Shadow under her bed among the cobwebs. At first, Ma thinks her daughter is making Shadow up. But as they begin to play together, Shadow grows increasingly bigger. When one day they go into the forest together, the girl gets lost, alone in a darkness too dark for even shadows, until finally Ma rescues her. Together they go home and explore the dark spaces in the house until there is nothing more to fear. This soft-spoken story can be anything from a simple, lovely, modern fairy tale to a stunning allegory about overcoming fear and how a parent's depression can affect a child. Suvorova expertly incorporates stark, contrasting whites and blacks with sunset reds and oranges for her illustrations. With both words and supporting artwork, there’s a darkness that steadily creeps into the story as Shadow grows from a boy into a monster, but the creative team skillfully lifts the story back into a place of safety and light by the end."―Booklist Online

(Website)

About this edition

• Publisher: Lantana Publishing
• Publication date: 2019
• ISBN 10: 1911373838
• ISBN 13: 9781911373834
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 40
• Illustrator: Suvorova Anastasia