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.
Persons:
Bruce Handy, Lisk Feng