Monday 30 October 2017

Hortense and the Shadow

Hortense and the Shadow

Written by Natalia O'Hara
Illustrated by Lauren O'Hara
Published by Puffin



When I received this book through the post, it felt like receiving a little bit of magic; with its gold foiled title, beautiful illustrations, and a dark fairy tale feel, it truly is a magical book that will remind you of fables you read as a child.




Meet Hortense, a small girl who lives in a big wood. Hortense is sad because she hates her shadow; it went everywhere she went and when night would fall it would become tall and dark and crooked. So Hortense decides she wants to hide it, behind columns and in holes but it grew worse until one evening, Hortense is able to outrun her shadow and cut it off with a sash window. Her shadow is now lost and Hortense seems happy until one night the door shook with knocks. In the dark, Hortense goes to check outside and finds herself surrounded by bandits. But with a terrible flash, shadows appear in the window which scare away the bandits - Its Hortense's shadow to the rescue and Hortense knows she must win her shadow back.



This is a stunning debut book by an exciting new author and illustrator pairing, sisters Natalia and Lauren O'Hara. You can see their inspiration is classic picture books and fables with a touch of eastern European. The book is beautiful and has a classic feel about it with a strong message of embracing all sides of yourself.


I think I'll be keeping this beautiful book for myself! 

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