Sometimes, when I'm walking with my younger daughter, especially in the early morning or evening when the sun is low in the sky and our shadows are long, we play what we call the Shadow Game. As she steps on my shadow, I squeal in mock pain. My shadow bonks her shadow on the head. Our shadows seem to have minds of their own.
Young children are fascinated by shadows. In
Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats, the child jumps to separate himself from his shadow, but when he lands they are reunited.
In
The Black Rabbit by Philippa Leathers, a rabbit is frightened by a big Black Rabbit which turns out to be, of course, his shadow. No matter how he tries, he can't escape this scary giant. But, in a plot twist reminiscent of
The Gruffalo, in the end the rabbit uses the creature he was once scared of to scare others.
This book will delight shadow-lovers everywhere.
