posted on 16 Nov 2019

Shadow by Lucy Christopher and Anastasia Suvorova

I’ve got rather used to saying that I’ve just read another beautiful book from Lantana Publishing but with Shadow by Lucy Christopher and Anastasia Suvorova they’ve gone and done it again.

When a young girl and her mother move into a new house, the girls' anxiety takes the form of a shadow she discovers living under her bed in the new bedroom. The old house was clean and light but this new one is full of corners and cobwebs and with mum just a distant figure, distracted by adult concerns, the girl finds companionship with the shadow.

As the days go by and the little girl and her mother seem to have no time to spend together, the shadow is the girl’s playmate and equal. But as the pages slip by we see the Shadow begin to grow in size and it starts to transform its shape from a benign companion to something that looks a whole lot more sinister.

Then one day the little girl and shadow venture out of the house, past the shops and into the forest, where shadow slips away to join all the other shadows amongst the trees, leaving the girl isolated and lost in the dark.

Just when all seems most bleak, a light breaks and the voice of the little girl’s mother can be heard calling to her, searching to find her amongst all the trees. In the clearing in the wood, mother and child make their connection and head off home – but not before a scarf has been left tied to a tree to remind the little girl and her shadow friend how to find each other in the future.

With the link between mother and daughter restored, the new house is filled with light, life and friendship and all the scary places and dark times are forgotten.

Not only is this a simple and touching story of childhood anxiety and the need for parent-child bonding, it’s an extremely lovely work of art. Anastasia Suvorova is an award-winning children’s book illustrator from St. Petersburg, Russia and she has judged her artwork to perfection, supplementing the storyline and giving this modern-day fairy-tale classic an unforgettable identity.

I think that this would make a fabulous Christmas gift – the colour palette that Suvorova has used gives the book that seasonal wintery feel and is dominated by blue-greys and browns with splashes of black and slashes of red to bring drama.

Highly recommended.

 

Terry Potter

November 2019

 

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