Which is why it’s so refreshing to find two picture books that present shadows for what they are: the non-nefarious interplay of light and dark. Ultimately, her shadow is joined in a meadow by those of two other children and a dog (the four of them now “friendly” shadows). It is in the presence of harsh light — rather than the depths of darkness — that the story turns somber. It was a thinking shadow, a shadow you could feel but not see. Feng’s soft-lined illustrations visually articulate the essence of Handy’s “stretching shadows,” easing day into night.

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Persons: Bruce Handy, Lisk Feng