SHADOW

Newsome’s story makes painfully clear just how difficult it is to move into a new neighborhood, but children won’t find ways to address that difficulty in this improbable tale. Rosy’s world is turned upside down when her family moves away. “Nothing I did seemed right anymore. People started to say how rude and bad-tempered I was.” She’s having a meltdown, but no one seems to be able to help. One day, walking home from school through the woods after a snowfall, she finds an injured rabbit. Rosy takes it home and cares for it; dubbed Shadow, it fills an empty place in her life. When Shadow is missing, Rosy is heartbroken until a neighbor girl, Nancy, finds the rabbit and returns it to her. Rosy, Nancy, and Shadow all become good friends. Children will find the one logical gap; they’re given no sign that Nancy knows Shadow belongs to Rosy. The moody artwork beautifully conveys Rosy’s loneliness, and her joy in finding Shadow, and a new friend. (Picture book. 4-8)