Hortense and the Shadow

by Natalia O'Hara, Lauren O'Hara (Artist)

Overview

A haunting, original fairy tale from two dazzling debut picture book talents, in the spirit of Neil Gaiman and Carson Ellis.

Hortense is a kind and brave girl, but she is sad—even angry—that her shadow follows her everywhere she goes. She hates her shadow, and thinks her shadow must hate her too. But one cold, dark night, when bandits surprise her in the woods, Hortense discovers that her shadow is the very thing she needs most.

This stunningly illustrated story stirs the soul with its compelling, subtle exploration of self-esteem, self-identity, and finding inner strength.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316440790
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	11/07/2017
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Natalia O'Hara is a script editor and Lauren O'Hara is a set designer. As children, Natalia and Lauren shared stories and planned that when they grew up, Natalia would write books and Lauren would draw pictures. Hortense and the Shadow is the sisters' debut collaboration. They live in London, England, and invite you to visit them at nataliaandlauren.com.

Editorial Reviews

09/18/2017
This haunting, folk tale–style debut from two sisters combines delicate, wintry images with dark thoughts. Hortense lives in a mansion that looks very much like a Russian Orthodox church, with onion domes, turrets, and ornate furniture. Hortense is “kind and brave,” but she’s locked in conflict with her own shadow. She’s not just irritated by it: “Hortense hated her shadow.” The O’Haras draw Hortense with a spidery black line looking angrily at her shadow on the snow—it’s long, gray, and menacing. In a convulsion of despair, Hortense dashes through a window and slams it behind her, casting her shadow from the house altogether. But when bandits arrive one night, it’s her shadow who saves her. It’s an allegory of reconciliation with the dark emotions human beings inevitably harbor; if Hortense’s shadow is sometimes “dark, fierce, strange, silly, jagged, or blue, well... sometimes Hortense is too,” the story concludes. Some readers may be unsettled by the depth of Hortense’s obsession, made all the spookier by garden tracery and architectural embellishment right out of Rebecca, but children who love eerie stories will be fascinated. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Hortense and the Shadow:
An Amazon Best Book of November 2017


"A handsome debut picture book...beautifully designed."—The New York Times

"A delicate original fairy tale that will likely appeal to young readers of imagination."—Kirkus Reviews

"Children who love eerie stories will be fascinated."—Publishers Weekly

"A uniquely told tale with beautiful illustrations."—School Library Journal

"Inquisitive youngsters seeking a bedtime yarn with equal parts spooky suspense and serious reflection will find it in this wintry wonderland."—Booklist

"Eerie...Wintry, shadowy art in white, black, grays, and pale blues creates the right atmosphere for this darkly suspenseful tale, and the images are tricky enough to keep readers and listeners questioning what they see and what to believe."—The Horn Book

"This story with a touch of the macabre works on many levels and will encourage such things as confidence and self-esteem."
—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

From the Publisher

10/01/2017
Gr 1–3— This picture book, the first creation by the O'Hara sisters, has the look and feel of a classic fairy tale. Hortense, a young girl lives in a snowy woods filled with wildlife. She is kind and brave, but there is one thing she absolutely detests—her shadow. It is tall and crooked and constantly following her around. She tries to hide it and run from it, until fated a day in the park when she realizes that her shadow hates her, too. Hortense hatches a plan and finally separates herself from her shadow, severing it with a closed window pane. Life goes on and Hortense is seemingly happy, until she meets a group of bandits in the night. Luckily, her shadow saves the day by becoming different intimidating figures (even a bear) and scares the bandits away. Hortense is grateful and realizes that her shadow is indeed a brave part of her that shows her how big she can be and how far she can go. Dreamy, detailed artwork is stylized and evocative, playing with light and shadow in its minimal palette and impressionistic scenes. It is extremely well executed and does the heavy lifting in creating the mood and shifting emotions of the story. VERDICT A uniquely told tale with beautiful illustrations, this is a recommended purchase for all libraries. Great for reading aloud and discussing with students.— Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh

School Library Journal

2017-08-02
A young white girl in a snowy, onion-domed fairyland setting escapes from her shadow only to find she is not whole without it. Hortense hates her shadow. It follows her everywhere, it does everything she does, and it grows "tall and dark / and crooked" when night falls. One day, Hortense escapes from her shadow, slamming the window on it, and her shadow is left behind. Hortense feels happy and free without the hated shadow—until the bandits show up. (These bandits are hidden within the illustrations throughout the book for sharp-eyed readers to discover.) When her shadow saves her, Hortense realizes that instead of being a hated nuisance, her shadow is an indispensable part of her, and so, in good fairy-tale fashion, all ends happily ever after. Natalia O'Hara's playful, dreamlike story is written in a lyrical cadence and relies on the poetry of the words themselves more than the reality they outline for meaning: ("she was as sad as an owl"). Lauren O'Hara (the O'Haras are sisters) contributes her own layer to the story's fanciful mood with her soft illustrations of muted colors, filled with snowy landscapes, looming trees (for the scary bits), and storybook, folkloric buildings whose interiors show whimsical decorative details. A delicate original fairy tale that will likely appeal to young readers of imagination. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews