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Shadow
A dark attic. A light bulb. An imaginative little girl.
Internationally acclaimed artist Suzy Lee uses these simple elements to create a visual tour de force that perfectly captures the joy of creative play and celebrates the power of imagination. Stunning in their simplicity, Lee's illustrations, in just two shades of color, present an adventure that begins and ends with the click of a light bulb.
Internationally acclaimed artist Suzy Lee uses these simple elements to create a visual tour de force that perfectly captures the joy of creative play and celebrates the power of imagination. Stunning in their simplicity, Lee's illustrations, in just two shades of color, present an adventure that begins and ends with the click of a light bulb.
44 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2010
4 people are currently reading
879 people want to read
About the author
Suzy Lee
37 books135 followersSuzy Lee is an artist and illustrator, born in Seoul, Korea. She received her BFA in painting from Seoul National University and her MA in Book Arts from Camberwell College of Arts, London. Her books and paintings have won numerous international awards and have been featured in exhibitions worldwide.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 238 reviews
January 31, 2019
Another beautiful picture book with no text by Suzy Lee. A little girl goes to her attic and turns on the light. Noticing shadows on the walls she experiments with her hands and then objects around her until she is acting out a shadow show of her own. We loved the charcoal drawings with just the addition of yellow to the page.
May 12, 2022
Cool and rather scary for a wordless picture book! As with Lee's Mirror, I wasn't entirely sure whether something creepy and paranormal was happening, or whether the action depicted represented an internal psychological conflict. Does her imagination run away with her and she imagines being attacked? Or has she actually been replaced by a shadowy doppelganger?
January 23, 2018
Imaginative, fun and full of movement, but also and sadly, very much too convoluted and detailed for me (for I always like wordless picture books that are simple and uncluttered), Suzy Lee's Shadow actually somewhat strains my eyes and even my level of comprehension, as I tend to think in words, not images, and find too many visual images rather distracting and confusing. And while I can defnitely appreciate the little girl playing with shadows, making shadow puppets, having a whole and entire shadow puppet theatre so to speak, I would enjoy Shadow much more if there were either less visual detail presented or at least some accompanying text to guide the reader (or rather the viewer); and no, the "dinner is ready" blurb is not sufficient for me. Also, and perhaps even more of an issue is the fact that Shadow must be "read" on its side, and that just does not work for me, period, never has, and likely never will. And furthermore, while both Suzy Lee's Wave and Mirror would and do work well for basic level language learning (and I have in fact and indeed used especially Wave repeatedly and successfully for elementary German language activities, such as verb drills, counting activities and the like), the overabundance of images, as well as the upside-down manner in which Shadow has been conceptualised and printed, makes me hesitant to even consider the the latter (too much detail, especially for basic level exercises, and the layout is not all that user friendly either).
January 28, 2011
I am really enjoying Suzy Lee's picture books. The pictures (these books are wordless or almost wordless) tell the stories, stories of a child imaginatively playing with everyday things, in her previous books, a Mirror and Waves, and now Shadows.
This book was more lighthearted than Mirror though not as joyous as Wave. I remember playing with all 3 of these things as a child and Lee captures well how a child plays and how a child thinks, and moves.
The illustrations are good, all in yellow and black and white. I love how the story starts with the word click on the inside front cover, as the girl pulls the light switch, shown on the first/title page. There are a few potentially scary scenes in this book but the girl controls her experience via her imagination and the story more amusing and fun than scary. I had a bit of a hard time getting used to turning the book sideways to properly view the pictures/story, but having the unusual format did contribute to making the viewing/reading experience interesting.
I think that I enjoyed the other two books more than this one though. But, this is a worthy addition, and I did really enjoy it.
This book was more lighthearted than Mirror though not as joyous as Wave. I remember playing with all 3 of these things as a child and Lee captures well how a child plays and how a child thinks, and moves.
The illustrations are good, all in yellow and black and white. I love how the story starts with the word click on the inside front cover, as the girl pulls the light switch, shown on the first/title page. There are a few potentially scary scenes in this book but the girl controls her experience via her imagination and the story more amusing and fun than scary. I had a bit of a hard time getting used to turning the book sideways to properly view the pictures/story, but having the unusual format did contribute to making the viewing/reading experience interesting.
I think that I enjoyed the other two books more than this one though. But, this is a worthy addition, and I did really enjoy it.
January 25, 2021
Shadow is a simple, nearly wordless picturebook about the imaginative child’s play with shadows. If you have ever seen a shadow puppet theater or, at least, tried to make a shadow animal with your hands, you know what I'm talking about.
Similar to Suzy Lee's previous wordless picturebook, Wave , the gutter in Shadow is a crucial part of the story as it separates the reality from the make-believe shadow world. Until, that is, the girl gets so into her play that the two worlds begin to merge.
I also enjoyed Suzy Lee's clever use of a single color - yellow - to guide the reader’s attention and to add a layer of meaning to the story.
Oh, and I think you're supposed to read Shadow sideways, bent at a 90 degree angle:
Similar to Suzy Lee's previous wordless picturebook, Wave , the gutter in Shadow is a crucial part of the story as it separates the reality from the make-believe shadow world. Until, that is, the girl gets so into her play that the two worlds begin to merge.
I also enjoyed Suzy Lee's clever use of a single color - yellow - to guide the reader’s attention and to add a layer of meaning to the story.
Oh, and I think you're supposed to read Shadow sideways, bent at a 90 degree angle:
September 13, 2010
I'd love to spend ten minutes inside Suzy Lee's head.
November 7, 2010
In 2008, Suzy Lee came out with a wonderful wordless picture book entitled WAVE, which I adored. And this year, Ms. Lee has a brand-new picture book that is mostly wordless. (The word "CLICK" appears twice, and the sentence "Dinner's Ready!" is in there.)
It is one of those weird books that opens top to bottom instead of left to right, which makes each page wider than it is tall. On the top half of each spread is a little girl in the real-world attic (I thought it was a garage, but the flap copy says otherwise), and on the bottom half is the shadow world. At first, the shadows are 100% faithful to the images above, but eventually, the shadows morph - a bicycle becomes a circle and a crescent (the sun and the moon), a vacuum cleaner hose and some boxes become an elephant - and, more than that, the shadows and the little girl begin to interact in wild and interesting ways.
In fact, in many ways, the story told almost entirely through pictures has a lot in common with one of my favorite picture books, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. There is a girl instead of a boy, and no wolf suit, and no timeout, but there is most decidedly a wild rumpus and a presumably hot dinner. And the same celebration of the sort of imagination that allows kids to sometimes get so caught up that the lines between real and pretend blur.
I have added this link to a site run by the good people at Chronicle Books (who sent me this lovely book to review, btw), where you can see four interior spreads in addition to the cover. The spreads are in order, although they omit the first spread in the book.
It is one of those weird books that opens top to bottom instead of left to right, which makes each page wider than it is tall. On the top half of each spread is a little girl in the real-world attic (I thought it was a garage, but the flap copy says otherwise), and on the bottom half is the shadow world. At first, the shadows are 100% faithful to the images above, but eventually, the shadows morph - a bicycle becomes a circle and a crescent (the sun and the moon), a vacuum cleaner hose and some boxes become an elephant - and, more than that, the shadows and the little girl begin to interact in wild and interesting ways.
In fact, in many ways, the story told almost entirely through pictures has a lot in common with one of my favorite picture books, Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. There is a girl instead of a boy, and no wolf suit, and no timeout, but there is most decidedly a wild rumpus and a presumably hot dinner. And the same celebration of the sort of imagination that allows kids to sometimes get so caught up that the lines between real and pretend blur.
I have added this link to a site run by the good people at Chronicle Books (who sent me this lovely book to review, btw), where you can see four interior spreads in addition to the cover. The spreads are in order, although they omit the first spread in the book.
February 17, 2014
I give this book about a 2 and a 1/2. Simply because I do not think it can be used in a classroom. Reading the books by myself I was confused about what was going on up until the very end of the book. Shadow by Suzy Lee is about a girl in a dark room playing with shadows of objects. It was not clear that the girl was using her imagination. Through out the book there were shadows from nothing. I think it would have been clearer if it showed the girl using objects to make her imaginary world. I think this book would be great for a lap read aloud but not for a class read aloud. I believe the students will become confused and the concept of a shadow if used in class to teach a lesson.
October 21, 2017
library copy
July 2, 2019
Magnifique !!!!
December 7, 2022
Pure joy.
October 22, 2015
I had problems following the story but I think children will have an easier time with this book. Their imaginations are better and that is what this book is about, imagination. I would recommend using this book with children and using it as a way to get their imaginations working and that will help them with writing and reading.
December 29, 2010
Interesting concept, but I didn't care for it.
May 9, 2020
Read at Groundhog Day After School Story Time on 2/2/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...
December 21, 2021
Suzy Lee’den bir başka sözsüz, resimli kitap. Adı üstünde “gölge” hikayesi. Yine başrolde bir küçük kız. Herkes özellikle çocukken (zaman zaman yetişkin yaşta dahi) karanlıktan, gölgelerden korkar. Değişik şekiller görür, anlamlar yükler. Hayal gerçeklikle karışık. Bunları ayırıp gerçeğe ulaşana dek bir huzursuzluk veya korku hali olur. Bir abajur, sehpa ve üzerindeki kitap eli bıçaklı bir yabancıya dönüşebilir sözümona.
İşte Gölge bu kadar karanlık olmasa da böyle bir hikaye. Yine kendine has tasarlanmış ve tasarımı Dalga’dan güzel olmuş. Kitap uzun bir dikdörtgen ve kapağı sağdan sola değil, yukarıdan aşağı çeviriliyor. Üstteki sayfa küçük kız ve gerçek dünya, alt sayfa ise üsttekilerin gölgeleri. Sayfalar ilerledikçe gölge dünyası zenginleşiyor, karmaşıklaşıyor ve… biraz da korkunç hale geliyor. İlerleyen sayfalardaki bazı çizimler fikir ve illüstrasyon olarak başarılı olmakl beraber çocuklar için korkutucu olabilir diye düşündürdü. Henüz bir çocuğun tepkisini ölçmedim. Ya korkacak yahut bu kitap ve devamı ile karanlık ve gölgeye dair korkularıyla yüzleşip sıyrılacak. İkinci ihtimal olur mu uzmanların konusu elbette, ihtimal olarak aklıma geldi.
İşte Gölge bu kadar karanlık olmasa da böyle bir hikaye. Yine kendine has tasarlanmış ve tasarımı Dalga’dan güzel olmuş. Kitap uzun bir dikdörtgen ve kapağı sağdan sola değil, yukarıdan aşağı çeviriliyor. Üstteki sayfa küçük kız ve gerçek dünya, alt sayfa ise üsttekilerin gölgeleri. Sayfalar ilerledikçe gölge dünyası zenginleşiyor, karmaşıklaşıyor ve… biraz da korkunç hale geliyor. İlerleyen sayfalardaki bazı çizimler fikir ve illüstrasyon olarak başarılı olmakl beraber çocuklar için korkutucu olabilir diye düşündürdü. Henüz bir çocuğun tepkisini ölçmedim. Ya korkacak yahut bu kitap ve devamı ile karanlık ve gölgeye dair korkularıyla yüzleşip sıyrılacak. İkinci ihtimal olur mu uzmanların konusu elbette, ihtimal olarak aklıma geldi.
August 26, 2024
That was really cool. Loved the shadow art
February 25, 2017
Wordless Book
Lee, Suzy. Shadow. (2010).
Shadow is the incredibly charming story of a little girl who uses her imagination to transform the shadows of everyday items into a magical jungle full of creatures that she can play with: a bird, an elephant, a rabbit, and more. As the fantasy intensifies, the “real” objects in the attic disappear from the page and the girl and magical shadow world is all that is left to see. But when her imaginary creations leave the shadow world and venture into reality, a dangerous wolf forces her to flee into the safe world of her imagination. There, with her shadow friends, she is able to scare the wolf away simply to realize that he wasn’t so dangerous after all, but really just in need of friends. Only when interrupted with “Dinner’s ready!” is the magic of imagination broken.
Lee does a marvelous job of carrying the story with simple, yet enchanting images that joyfully engage the reader. Beginning with the cover illustration, Lee lets us know that this will not be your ordinary picture book. It is read by flipping the pages up, not sideways, with the top cover and pages held up at a 90 degree angle. The story begins on the solid black endpapers with just the word “CLICK!” written in white letters on the top page. No more words appear until the very end. Then, on the title page we see a little girl that has just turned on the attic light, for her hand is still on the pull chain. The background on the remaining pages is solid white and we can clearly see the heroine in the cluttered attic surrounded by household items. All the images are sketched in shades of black charcoal. However, the gutter is ingeniously used and serves as a border between the “real” girl and items in the room on the top page, and the shadows cast by the light on the bottom page. As the girl’s imagination takes off, Lee cleverly uses the color yellow to accentuate the fantasy world of shadows, and as the fantasy intensifies, so does the saturation of the color yellow. Only at the end, with another “CLICK!” and pull of the chain, do the pages return to a solid black spread. But is the magic truly over? This story serves as a potent reminder of the power of imagination and creativity to enrich our lives and turn the ordinary into extraordinary. Although highly recommended for young children, this book could definitely be used with older children, especially if used to guide the writing of original stories to go with the pictures.
Target audience: ages 3-8.
Lee, Suzy. Shadow. (2010).
Shadow is the incredibly charming story of a little girl who uses her imagination to transform the shadows of everyday items into a magical jungle full of creatures that she can play with: a bird, an elephant, a rabbit, and more. As the fantasy intensifies, the “real” objects in the attic disappear from the page and the girl and magical shadow world is all that is left to see. But when her imaginary creations leave the shadow world and venture into reality, a dangerous wolf forces her to flee into the safe world of her imagination. There, with her shadow friends, she is able to scare the wolf away simply to realize that he wasn’t so dangerous after all, but really just in need of friends. Only when interrupted with “Dinner’s ready!” is the magic of imagination broken.
Lee does a marvelous job of carrying the story with simple, yet enchanting images that joyfully engage the reader. Beginning with the cover illustration, Lee lets us know that this will not be your ordinary picture book. It is read by flipping the pages up, not sideways, with the top cover and pages held up at a 90 degree angle. The story begins on the solid black endpapers with just the word “CLICK!” written in white letters on the top page. No more words appear until the very end. Then, on the title page we see a little girl that has just turned on the attic light, for her hand is still on the pull chain. The background on the remaining pages is solid white and we can clearly see the heroine in the cluttered attic surrounded by household items. All the images are sketched in shades of black charcoal. However, the gutter is ingeniously used and serves as a border between the “real” girl and items in the room on the top page, and the shadows cast by the light on the bottom page. As the girl’s imagination takes off, Lee cleverly uses the color yellow to accentuate the fantasy world of shadows, and as the fantasy intensifies, so does the saturation of the color yellow. Only at the end, with another “CLICK!” and pull of the chain, do the pages return to a solid black spread. But is the magic truly over? This story serves as a potent reminder of the power of imagination and creativity to enrich our lives and turn the ordinary into extraordinary. Although highly recommended for young children, this book could definitely be used with older children, especially if used to guide the writing of original stories to go with the pictures.
Target audience: ages 3-8.
February 5, 2014
I love this! Illustrations tell the whole story, which is imaginative and fun and even has a sweet moment. I would LOVE to add this to my Groundhog storytime where I've been thinking about focusing on shadows. But I'm not sure if the illustrations are too intricate for the kids to be able to see and tell me a story. I suppose if I give them ample time to really look. Plus, reading it in a different direction than we do many of our books (in our western culture) would probably stand out to them as well. I will for sure have it for display, but I really, REALLY want to give this a try!
2/5/14 I think this was the best book in my shadow theme. The kids liked the other books' stories, but this was completely different from, which hooked their interest. Of course, it took a few pages before I was really able to grab their interest. And then they were into it. And they loved the ending. Definite success and perfect ending for the theme.
2/5/14 I think this was the best book in my shadow theme. The kids liked the other books' stories, but this was completely different from, which hooked their interest. Of course, it took a few pages before I was really able to grab their interest. And then they were into it. And they loved the ending. Definite success and perfect ending for the theme.
October 12, 2022
A child's imagination can make a playground out of anything. This was a beautifully immersive wordless tale of discoveries, conflict, and learning experiences. For kids who are easily scared by "darkness" and shady beings, this may be too much to handle on their own. But we all can use a dose of magic every now and then to help us through the scary parts of life. And shadows are not really scary :)
Mi piace molto questa storia silenziosa, ma non capisco perché la versione italiana scrive il verbo è con un accento acuto.
P.S. I realize the chances of any German-speakers reading this review is probably nil... but this book really reminds me of Gerhard Schöne's Der Meeresbezwinger Thomas. Check it out if this is your kind of thing.
Mi piace molto questa storia silenziosa, ma non capisco perché la versione italiana scrive il verbo è con un accento acuto.
P.S. I realize the chances of any German-speakers reading this review is probably nil... but this book really reminds me of Gerhard Schöne's Der Meeresbezwinger Thomas. Check it out if this is your kind of thing.
March 16, 2016
H Suzy Lee καταφέρνει με εκπληκτικό τρόπο, να δημιουργήσει έντονα συναίσθημα και να βγάλει ιστορίες χωρίς λέξεις, μόνο μέσα από τις υπέροχες ζωγραφιές της.
Η Lee, συλλαμβάνει και απεικονίζει πολύ καλά την ιδέα στο πως ένα παιδί σκέφτεται, χρησιμοποιεί την φαντασία του, παίζει και κινείται όταν είναι μόνο του. Μας θυμίζει ξανά, το πως γεμίζαμε μόνοι μας το χρόνο όταν ήμασταν μικρές -οι.
Το Shadow είναι ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου βιβλία της, δείχνει κανείς θα έλεγε την όψη δυο κόσμων αυτού που βλέπουμε και αυτού που υπάρχει στις σκιές,αφού το κοριτσάκι σβήσει το φως, με την λέξη κλικ. Εξαιρετικό παιδικό βιβλίο αν και σκοτεινό.
Η Lee, συλλαμβάνει και απεικονίζει πολύ καλά την ιδέα στο πως ένα παιδί σκέφτεται, χρησιμοποιεί την φαντασία του, παίζει και κινείται όταν είναι μόνο του. Μας θυμίζει ξανά, το πως γεμίζαμε μόνοι μας το χρόνο όταν ήμασταν μικρές -οι.
Το Shadow είναι ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου βιβλία της, δείχνει κανείς θα έλεγε την όψη δυο κόσμων αυτού που βλέπουμε και αυτού που υπάρχει στις σκιές,αφού το κοριτσάκι σβήσει το φως, με την λέξη κλικ. Εξαιρετικό παιδικό βιβλίο αν και σκοτεινό.
July 4, 2017
I imagine that there are kids who love this. Those who have a strong imagination and can let it free to join this little girl on her adventure. I don't think I ever would have. I mean, in the abstract, it's great, but I didn't understand so much of what was going on that I was frustrated... and I've always been like that. Also, just as in Wave, the design doesn't take into account the gutter. Here it's not so bad as there, but still... in this the gutter could have been filled in with the attic floor, no, instead of hiding story elements there?
Two stars = 'it was ok.'
Two stars = 'it was ok.'
October 5, 2010
Grades Pre-K to 2. A girl's bedroom becomes a world of imagination in this wordless picture book. The black and white illustrations glimmer with yellow to indicate the girl's perception. Very creative and fun to read. Put this on your 2011 Caldecott short list! (except the author wasn't born and doesn't live in the USA-- so we can take it off the list. DARN!)
January 31, 2016
I adore artist Suzy Lee's bold and innovative approach with Shadow. It's such a clever rethinking of how a book and pages can be used. There's also a charming narrative about a young girl playing. A really engaging book.
November 17, 2010
Shadow is an amazing tribute to the power of imagination -Suzy Lee's, the main character's and children everywhere. Innovative format, suprising wordless story, great illustrations...
Could we all chip in for moving expenses to get Suzy Lee to move to the US and be eligible for a Caldecott?
Could we all chip in for moving expenses to get Suzy Lee to move to the US and be eligible for a Caldecott?
December 10, 2010
This is a wordless and charming book about the power of imagination. However, I don’t really understand all of the fuss over it.
July 27, 2011
An excellent account of a child at play. Imagination at its best!
June 29, 2013
49 months - O took one look at this and said
That it didn't have any words and she didn't want to read it. Hummm.
That it didn't have any words and she didn't want to read it. Hummm.
September 24, 2017
Title: Shadow
Author: Suzy Lee
Illustrator: ^
Genre: wordless picture book
Theme(s): shadows, imagination
Opening line/sentence: n/a
Brief Book Summary: A little girl uses her imagination to turn inanimate objects into wild animals, creating a story that is all her own. The lack of words, means readers will use the vivid illustrations to comprehend the meaning of the story.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Horn Book Guide Reviews
(https://browse.nypl.org/iii/encore/re...)
A little girl notices the shadows thrown by objects piled up in her attic. Her imagination takes over, and the items, including a ladder, hose, and bicycle, turn into wild animals. This wordless book is a tribute to the power of a child's imagination. Strong sideways-oriented book design and striking three-color illustrations carry the story.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
SLJ Reviews
(https://browse.nypl.org/iii/encore/re...)
The world of shadow is mysterious and magical, where splayed hands become birds and canister vacuums transform into elephants. Lee's nearly wordless picture book pulls children into this place as they watch a girl play in a cluttered storage room. As her imaginary world develops, the real one fades, until the two merge and a dangerous fox, created by the shadow of the girl holding a broken boot, breaks through the gutter and begins a thrilling chase. The book is read horizontally, with images from the top reflected as upside-down shadows below. It is meticulously designed and executed, effectively using the gutter and endpapers as integral parts of the story. Lee uses charcoal, pencil, watercolor, lacquer spray paint, and digital manipulation to create two interlinked and fascinating worlds. She employs yellow to denote elements created in the girl's imagination: a few touches at the beginning, then more as magic takes over. As the action moves from the real to the imaginary, readers rotate the book to see the shadow world, then back around, creating a thoroughly interactive and engaging read. Children will pore over the book to see how each of the everyday objects, such as the hose and the wheels on the bicycle, transforms into a snake, sun, and moon in the shadows below
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The vivid, detailed illustrations carry this imaginative story. Color is used to portray the main character’s imagination; to determine what is real and what is not. The lack of words means readers will have to pay close attention to the illustrations to understand what is going on.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This is a great book to use to teach children not just about shadows, but about using their imagination. Teachers could have students use their imaginations through acting, drawing, or writing. Students could create their own words/poems to accompany the story’s illustrations.
Author: Suzy Lee
Illustrator: ^
Genre: wordless picture book
Theme(s): shadows, imagination
Opening line/sentence: n/a
Brief Book Summary: A little girl uses her imagination to turn inanimate objects into wild animals, creating a story that is all her own. The lack of words, means readers will use the vivid illustrations to comprehend the meaning of the story.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Horn Book Guide Reviews
(https://browse.nypl.org/iii/encore/re...)
A little girl notices the shadows thrown by objects piled up in her attic. Her imagination takes over, and the items, including a ladder, hose, and bicycle, turn into wild animals. This wordless book is a tribute to the power of a child's imagination. Strong sideways-oriented book design and striking three-color illustrations carry the story.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
SLJ Reviews
(https://browse.nypl.org/iii/encore/re...)
The world of shadow is mysterious and magical, where splayed hands become birds and canister vacuums transform into elephants. Lee's nearly wordless picture book pulls children into this place as they watch a girl play in a cluttered storage room. As her imaginary world develops, the real one fades, until the two merge and a dangerous fox, created by the shadow of the girl holding a broken boot, breaks through the gutter and begins a thrilling chase. The book is read horizontally, with images from the top reflected as upside-down shadows below. It is meticulously designed and executed, effectively using the gutter and endpapers as integral parts of the story. Lee uses charcoal, pencil, watercolor, lacquer spray paint, and digital manipulation to create two interlinked and fascinating worlds. She employs yellow to denote elements created in the girl's imagination: a few touches at the beginning, then more as magic takes over. As the action moves from the real to the imaginary, readers rotate the book to see the shadow world, then back around, creating a thoroughly interactive and engaging read. Children will pore over the book to see how each of the everyday objects, such as the hose and the wheels on the bicycle, transforms into a snake, sun, and moon in the shadows below
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The vivid, detailed illustrations carry this imaginative story. Color is used to portray the main character’s imagination; to determine what is real and what is not. The lack of words means readers will have to pay close attention to the illustrations to understand what is going on.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This is a great book to use to teach children not just about shadows, but about using their imagination. Teachers could have students use their imaginations through acting, drawing, or writing. Students could create their own words/poems to accompany the story’s illustrations.
May 5, 2025
Sinopsis:
“Sombras” es un álbum ilustrado sin palabras que narra la historia de una niña que, al encender la luz en un desván, comienza a jugar con las sombras proyectadas por los objetos a su alrededor. Lo que comienza como un simple juego se transforma en una travesía fantástica, donde el mundo real y el imaginado se entrelazan. A medida que avanza, la línea entre ambos se difumina, hasta que una voz familiar llama desde abajo… y la magia termina, por ahora.
Mis impresiones:
Suzy Lee vuelve a deslumbrar con su dominio del lenguaje visual. La estructura del libro, con las ilustraciones divididas en dos planos —la realidad en blanco y negro; la fantasía en tonos invertidos— es tan ingeniosa como efectiva. La ausencia de palabras permite que el lector construya su propia interpretación, y cada lectura ofrece matices nuevos.
La protagonista —una niña curiosa y libre— no necesita diálogos para expresarse. Su cuerpo, sus gestos, su risa implícita, son el corazón de esta historia sobre la creatividad como escape, juego y afirmación de identidad.
Los temas y el arte:
“Sombras” trata sobre el poder de la imaginación, el juego solitario, el umbral entre lo cotidiano y lo extraordinario. El uso del contraste gráfico es clave: Lee juega con la luz, la sombra y el espacio para representar mundos paralelos que conviven en la mente de la protagonista.
El arte es expresivo, dinámico y absolutamente encantador. La transición entre realidad e invención es fluida, casi mágica, y el regreso al “mundo real” deja una sensación de nostalgia dulce.
¿Y los peros?
Ninguno. Aunque es un libro sin texto, puede despertar preguntas en lectores más jóvenes, lo cual es una oportunidad ideal para dialogar, imaginar juntos y compartir interpretaciones.
En conclusión:
“Sombras” es un álbum ilustrado deslumbrante que celebra la imaginación infantil y el poder de transformar lo ordinario en algo extraordinario. Suzy Lee demuestra una vez más que no hacen falta palabras para contar una gran historia.
Una lectura para todas las edades, que recuerda que jugar con las sombras es una forma luminosa de conocerse.
“Sombras” es un álbum ilustrado sin palabras que narra la historia de una niña que, al encender la luz en un desván, comienza a jugar con las sombras proyectadas por los objetos a su alrededor. Lo que comienza como un simple juego se transforma en una travesía fantástica, donde el mundo real y el imaginado se entrelazan. A medida que avanza, la línea entre ambos se difumina, hasta que una voz familiar llama desde abajo… y la magia termina, por ahora.
Mis impresiones:
Suzy Lee vuelve a deslumbrar con su dominio del lenguaje visual. La estructura del libro, con las ilustraciones divididas en dos planos —la realidad en blanco y negro; la fantasía en tonos invertidos— es tan ingeniosa como efectiva. La ausencia de palabras permite que el lector construya su propia interpretación, y cada lectura ofrece matices nuevos.
La protagonista —una niña curiosa y libre— no necesita diálogos para expresarse. Su cuerpo, sus gestos, su risa implícita, son el corazón de esta historia sobre la creatividad como escape, juego y afirmación de identidad.
Los temas y el arte:
“Sombras” trata sobre el poder de la imaginación, el juego solitario, el umbral entre lo cotidiano y lo extraordinario. El uso del contraste gráfico es clave: Lee juega con la luz, la sombra y el espacio para representar mundos paralelos que conviven en la mente de la protagonista.
El arte es expresivo, dinámico y absolutamente encantador. La transición entre realidad e invención es fluida, casi mágica, y el regreso al “mundo real” deja una sensación de nostalgia dulce.
¿Y los peros?
Ninguno. Aunque es un libro sin texto, puede despertar preguntas en lectores más jóvenes, lo cual es una oportunidad ideal para dialogar, imaginar juntos y compartir interpretaciones.
En conclusión:
“Sombras” es un álbum ilustrado deslumbrante que celebra la imaginación infantil y el poder de transformar lo ordinario en algo extraordinario. Suzy Lee demuestra una vez más que no hacen falta palabras para contar una gran historia.
Una lectura para todas las edades, que recuerda que jugar con las sombras es una forma luminosa de conocerse.
January 9, 2021
Piu di una volta vi abbiamo parlato di Suzy Lee, illustratrice coreana conosciuta per i suoi silent book, e oggi torniamo a farlo con “Shadow”, in italiano “Ombra”. La bambina protagonista dei suoi libri si trova in una cantina buia con tanti oggetti lasciati lì a prendere polvere. Ci sono scatoloni vecchi, una bicicletta, una scala con degli scarponi usati, un’aspirapolvere, delle scope e così via. Secondo la psicologia analitica di Carl Jung, l’archetipo dell’ombra rappresenta il “lato oscuro” della nostra personalità ed è qualcosa che esiste solo in presenza della luce, poiché un corpo immerso nel buio non ha parti oscure, cioè ombra. Suzy Lee sembra ribaltare questa concezione perché la bambina decide di buttarsi nel buio ed esplorarlo. Infatti, dall'ombra delle sue mani spunta una colomba e poi una luce di un giallo acceso e brillante. Da qui il viaggio verso la lettura del libro cambia di prospettiva. Se prima la pagina in alto era quella con i disegni, andando avanti la pagina in basso si riempirà di giallo, unico colore presente nel libro, e di disegni che si formano dalle ombre degli oggetti con cui la piccola inizia a giocare. Vedremo così un lupo che si forma dai vecchi stivali, un elefante dall’aspirapolvere, una vera giungla che la fa catapultare in questo mondo che ora non fa più paura fino a quando una voce la fa tornare alla realtà e il giallo sparisce, per far tornare tutto come era prima. Ma, anche questa volta, il suo vestito rimarrà giallo, come già era successo con il blu del “L’onda”. Per Jung solo l’ombra occultata e allontanata risulta realmente minacciosa, l’ombra riconosciuta e accettata, invece, è positiva, stimolante e fonte di nuova energia psichica.
Se fosse proprio questo quello che sperimenta la nostra protagonista? Lo lasciamo scoprire a voi!
#psicoleggimi
#suzylee
Se fosse proprio questo quello che sperimenta la nostra protagonista? Lo lasciamo scoprire a voi!
#psicoleggimi
#suzylee
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