Jack's Amazing Shadow: The new edition of the acclaimed illustrated picture book for children aged 3+

by Tom Percival

What does your shadow get up to?

Jack and his amazing magical shadow are the VERY best of friends who do everything together. But when Jack's shadow gets up to mischief and starts acting of its own accord, Jack gets the blame. He decides that he has had enough, and the best friends have a falling out. Will Jack and his shadow ever be reunited?

With themes of friendship, difference and the power of saying ‘sorry’, this lively story is perfect for anyone who's ever wondered what their shadow gets up to when they're not looking!

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

Published December 12, 2023

About the author

Tom Percival writes and illustrates picture books (you know, for kids) as well as illustrating books written by other people. The most well known of these is probably the excellent Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy.

He grew up in a remote and beautiful part of South Shropshire. On reflection this seemed rather more remote than beautiful, owing to the fact that he lived in a small caravan without electricity, mains water or any sensible form of heating. He thinks that he’s probably one of the few people in his peer group to have learnt to read by gas lamp.
Surprisingly enough he has never been called ‘hippy’ (to the best of his knowledge)

Tom now lives in an actual house with his girlfriend and their two young sons.
His favourite colour is turquoise and his favourite number is usually seven.

Tom has three picture books available, Tobias and the Super Spooky Ghost Book, A Home for Mr Tipps, Jack's AMAZING Shadow and a fourth, Herman's Letter will be publishing in October 2012 through Bloomsbury

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was sent this book to review with my children. The story is about Jack and his shadow that isn't like any ordinary shadow. In fact Jack and his shadow are best friends. But one day the shadow does something really naughty and gets Jack into trouble.

Jack tells the shadow to go away and leave him alone. At first Jack is happy but then he begins to realise what he is missing and wishes he has his shadow back....

My 6 year old was gripped by the story as I read it to him. The illustrations compliment the story very well and there is just enough on each page. A lovely story to share as in the end Jack and his shadow say sorry to each other and are friends again.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story about a young boy named Jack whose shadow gets a bit wild. Jack gets blamed for all the problems his shadow causes so he tells him to go away. Jack then realizes how much he misses his shadow and the two work out their problems. Humor and fun for younger readers as well as a message to work out problems rather than simply break apart.

[Storywraps · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack is penned as an ordinary boy. One teeny tiny thing about Jack is far from ordinary, and that his amazing, magical shadow. You see Jack and his shadow are very best friends, you could say they are inseparable. They romp and play and have great fun together. One day Jack's shadow got carried away and started to be naughty. He turned on the taps in the sink and let the water overflow. Bad Shadow. He pulled the nails from a picture in the living room and detached it from the wall. Bad Shadow. He put on a very scary face and frightened the cat and he piled up a stack of dishes so high....well you can guess what the outcome of that prank was! Very, bad shadow! The sad part was that Jack got all the blame for the mischief. His parents did not believe Jack when he told them what was going on and Jack did not like that one little bit. He decided to estrange himself from his friend because he had had enough. After multiple attempts to disengage himself that didn't work, he finally resorted to shouting, "Go away Shadow." "You are not my friend anymore." His shadow slunk away and faded into oblivion . Did that make Jack feel better now that his shadow was gone? The illustrations take the mood of the story from there. The range of expressions and emotions are so well portrayed....no Jack was miserable. He missed his friend very much. He realized he had been mean and he started an all out search to locate and bring his shadow back to him. Did he finally succeed at locating and reconciling with his best friend? Did he again become attached to Shadow and they played happily ever after? You will have to check out the book and see for yourself.

The illustrations are playful, fun, quirky and off-beat. I liked that a lot. The antics and expressions that are portrayed are amazing. This would be a wonderful read aloud in a classroom situation followed by a good old fashioned game of Shadow Tag at recess time. (or any time) (of course teacher included)

[Alice Hudson · Rating 5 out of 5]

fab illustrations fun to read aloud. my 2 yr old loved it

[Marco Gontijo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best children's book I've ever read. The metaphor is deep and an important learning experience. Very important in a time where black and white mentality is so common.