The illustrations are delicate and charming but the text is disappointingly flat and prosaic. Both the the fairy tale quality of the story line and the initial impression created by the illustrations set up expectations of Hortense's despair at her shadow's presence, her effort to escape it and her fear of the bandits. None of the emotions are reflected by the writing so that the final reconciliation lacks the sense of resolution.

A charming story which shows how fear can be misplaced, set in a Winter Wonderland. 

Hortense hates her shadow. It chases her, and makes itself scarily tall. One day, it trips her up, and Hortense decides to act. I love the language – Hortense lives in the middle of a ‘wolfish wood’, for example. The animal references form a sense of magic. A raven cries as Hortense runs from her shadow. This makes the separation more believable. 

The tone and subtle shade of the pictures is divine. I love how trees and animals border the white snow. The closeness of the plants hints at things hiding in the woods, and forms a hide-and-seek game with the red-hatted bandit, who reappears in the early pages.

Hortense is confronted by the bandits. Readers can compare this with the earlier situation of being afraid of Shadow, and discuss whether Hortense was right. Should we allow fear of smaller things to take over? What is the purpose of fear? Why do we feel it, and how can we keep it under control? It would be a great opportunity to discuss with children how fear can alert us to something wrong, and why we should always talk to grown-ups if we are afraid.

A lovely addition for any bookshelf, I love the style of artwork, and look forward to more from this talented duo.

Hortense and the Shadow, by Natalia O'Hara and Lauren O'Hara is a delightful picture book for children.

A little girl named Hortense hates her shadow, especially since it follows her everywhere, and Hortense decides her shadow must go away. However, she later realizes that her shadow is there for a reason.

Within thirty-two pages, this children's book features an intriguing story and lovely illustrations.

Hortense and the Shadow is geared toward young children, particularly kindergartners to third graders. Highly recommend adding this book to your collection!


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Hortense and the Shadow is a lovely children's book for ages 5-7 years old written and illustrated by two talented sisters- Natalia and Lauren O'Hara in their debut picture book. This probably also explains the superb complementary pictures which perfectly capture the tone of the words; Some of the text is written in a charming rhyming pattern which can be read aloud for young children to copy. There is real heart and warmth to this story about the love/hate relationship Hortense has with her shadow and the lessons she learns as a result of trying to part company with it. Until she admits;- 'You're part of me shadow, Please come back!' For slightly older readers they will pick up on the underlying message which is wrapped up in the tale.It is fine to be you on good and bad days. This is an enchanting little fable which parents could read again and again.

This book was such a short, delightful read. The pictures are great!!! I'm very old for a book like this, but even then I enjoyed it. I'm going to buy this for my little nephew!!

I read this book with my seven year old daughter, who loved the whimsical nature of the story.  It's a re-telling of common childhood fears (the dark; one's shadow; dangers from the world outside the safety of home), and would be especially suited to children whose own shadows bother them.  As an adult reader, some of the text is predicable and twee (e.g. Hortense's explanation of how her shadow protects and inspires her), but it works very well for younger readers who aren't accustomed to it.  The illustrations are by far my favourite element of this book - they are stunning! The pale, simple colour scheme highlights the snowy setting of the story, and contrasts perfectly with the shadow.the colour combinations are unusual, making the book stand out.  I would definitely recommend this book, as would my daughter!

Hortense and the Shadow was a cute and insightful children’s illustration book that I absolutely adored.  All of the illustrations were beautiful and gave the perfect setting to the book both in the lighthearted and scary points in the book. Hortense and the Shadow tells the story of a young girl named Hortense who does not like her shadow. It always follows her around and bothers her, getting in her way and scaring her. Hortense believes that cutting off her shadow will fix many of her problems but when some strange figures show up at her house one night she realizes the strengths that her shadow has and all that it did for her. 
I work at a summer camp. It is my favorite place to be especially when I am surrounded by all of the children there. When I look at picture and children’s book I try to always find ones that would work out well to read to my campers and would have a nice and understandable meaning to it. I cannot wait for this summer and being able to bring to camp the snowy setting of Hortense and the Shadow.

I am always on the look out for picture books, especially as I have gone back to Key Stage 1 (5-7 years old). I'm currently with the older range of children and I knew from the synopsis that this book would be perfect for my class! I was happy to read it first and know now that I'll be purchasing a copy for my class!

The story centres around Hortense who is a lovely girl, but she's very frustrated with her shadow. She can't seem to work out why it keeps following her around! She hates her shadow and is convinced that the feeling is mutual. Hortense soon finds out that she needs her shadow after an experience with bandits on a cold night.

I really liked Hortense as a character and think many children will be able to identify with her!

I thought this was an adorable story, very fairy tale-esque in its nature. The illustrations are stunning and I think it carries a wonderful theme of self-identity. I can imagine that I'd use it for a discussion about self-esteem because it does explore that throughout the story in an incredibly subtle way.

I'm still not totally certain of how to review picture books and this is my first picture book I've read as an adult outside of some good old Dr Seuss (it's the rhymes, guys, who can resist a rhyme?

I think the art in this book was amazing. Like truly stunning, I just wanted to marvel at the pictures as I read it. The dedication to the drawings shone through and I know picture books use the pictures to aid the story and it totally made the story so much better and any child (any adult) would have wanted to look at them.

I found the story to be short and simple and strangely sweet. Hortense hated her shadow and seeing the lengths she went to to lose it was extreme. It was sweet, though, and totally the kind of book you can see reading to children. I'd really read it more for the pictures than the story, though.

I was initially attracted to this children’s story by the beautiful cover. 

I just happened to have it on my NetGalley shelf when my six year old niece came to visit for a few days last week, so she was able to read it to me and her grandma. She had slight issues with the pronunciation of the name Hortense, as it’s not a name she’s heard before, but she got there in the end. She enjoyed the story, particularly liked the ending, and seemed to be fascinated by the bandits. She has asked me to give it four out of five stars.

As for me, I thought it was a fascinating story about a girl and the troubled relationship she has with her own shadow. The illustrations are beautiful. I love the choice of pastel colours mixed with black, navy and grey, giving it a whimsical fairy tale feel with a hint of darkness that many fairy tales have. Although more detailed and more subtle in colour, I would say the illustrations and even the story to some degree reminded me a little of The Fox and the Star, so I think this would appeal to fans of that story. I give this four out of five stars too.

Hortense’s shadow follows her everywhere, copies everything she does and never leaves her. She hates it. Only when she is rid of it, and finds herself in desperate trouble, does she discover it's true value.

Stunning, delicate illustrations not only complement, but add depth and narrative to this wonderfully original fairytale. The muted colour palette and white space add to the ethereal feel, with lots of intricate detail to explore and enjoy. The message of true friends always being there for you no matter what shines through. 

Great for fans of The Fox And The Star and Under The Same Sky.

ebook proof courtesy of Penguin Random House UK Children's Books via Netgalley.

The illustrations are captivating and atmospheric and give a good sense of fairy tale.  The plot is an interesting one about accepting who you are, but the rhyme and meter is a bit stilted for a child.  I tripped over the flow of words on occasions.  I can’t see children being interested enough to warrant a  £10.99 RRP.  Sorry, I see this in the remainders warehouse.

Well this is so beautiful and haunting, my little one got a bit scared half way through and I was a tiny bit worried, but things turned out wonderfully at the end - phew!  The illustrations are just lovely, and the story is clever and thoughtful, we talked a lot about shadows and being frightened and who looks after us etc. It was a really good read for a wide range of ages, and we will be reading it again and again I'm sure.

Beautifully illustrated with a cute premise. Will definitely be picking this up when it's released!

Didn't make much sense to me. Sorry. A little girl hates her shadow. Meh. Illustrations were lovely. Just the story didn't work for me.

This is such a beautiful book: both in the gorgeous pastel illustrations and in the wonderful prose.  Hortense, like many children (and not too few adults) is scared of the ghastly shapes that her shadow makes.  Her shadow follows her everywhere, so she does all she can to rid herself of it.  But then, one dark night when all seems lost, it is her shadow that saves the day (or night!), and Hortense realises that “if (the shadow) is sometimes dark, cross, silly, jagged or blue, well sometimes Hortense is too”.  
This book will thrill all – young or old.  Underneath the fairy tale story, it is about a young girl coming to terms with her appearance, and all facets of her being – the good, the bad and the ugly – each has a part to play in making the child into a rounded human being.
The story makes me think of Adelbert von Chamisso’s novella “Peter Schlemihl”.  Peter sells his shadow to the Devil, and thence is completely ostracised from society as a person with no shadow is held to be untrustworthy, however much money he has.  Hortense realises just in time that her shadow is part of who she is.

This is the first children's book that I have read as an adult and despite its short length (only 18 pages), I really enjoyed it. The artwork is delightfully stunning and I really really wish that I could put some of it on my wall.

Do I want children? No sure. Would I have children just to give them pretty names, dress them up, and read picture books with cute illustrations to them? I guess so! Good thing I have a godchild I can read this to instead. Hortense and the Shadow is a great example of children's graphic design and will serve me as an attempt to turn that one-year old into an art afficionado. Not much of a deeper message to find between the rhyming lines, but there doesn't have to be one in everything.

Daughter didn't show much interest in this one, sorry