Shadows and Light: The White Hare

Disgrifiad Cymraeg / Welsh Description

Stori am ferch sy'n newid ei ffurf i ysgyfarnog er mwyn dianc rhag cariad creulon. Rhan o gyfres o straeon a ysbrydolwyd gan chwedlau gwerin sy'n archwilio'r ochr dywyll i gysylltiad y ddynoliaeth â byd natur. Stori hud a lledrith sy'n siŵr o yrru ias i lawr y cefn.

Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description

Back then, humans and animals were fellow beings under the sky. Perhaps that's why it seemed possible for humans to change into animals. One in a series of tales that explore the deeper, darker side of our connection with the natural world. Be ready to feel a little bit of magic, and perhaps a few shivers down the spine.

Dosbarthu

Byddwn yn dosbarthu eitemau sydd mewn stoc o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith, fel arfer drwy Royal Mail Tracked 48. Ar gyfer archebion o flaen llaw, byddwn yn dosbarthu’r eitem o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith ar ôl ei derbyn gan ein cyflenwr.

Dispatch

In-stock items will be dispatched within 3 business days, usually by Royal Mail Tracked 48. For pre-orders, we’ll dispatch within 3 business days of receiving the item from our supplier.

Bywgraffiad yr Awdur / Author Biography

Nicola Davies is an award-winning author, whose many books for children include The Promise (Green Earth Book Award 2015, Greenaway Shortlist 2015), Tiny (AAAS Subaru Prize 2015), A First Book of Nature and Whale Boy (Blue Peter Award Shortlist 2014). Her books published by Graffeg include Perfect (Greenaway Longlist 2017), Animal Surprises (Klaus Flugge Longlist 2017), and the Shadows & Light series. She graduated in Zoology from King’s College, University of Cambridge, and studied geese, bats and whales before becoming a presenter for The Really Wild Show and the BBC Natural History Unit. She has been writing for children for more than 20 years. Underlying all Nicola’s writing is the belief that a relationship with nature is essential to every human being, and that now, more than ever, we need to renew that relationship. Nicola is based in Crickhowell, Wales.

Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review

It’s a little puzzling why the white hare of the title, so vividly portrayed on the cover of this book, doesn’t appear in the narrative until the 26th of the 29 pages of the story (which, incidentally, begins on page 6). The only hint of the hare’s existence is through illustration in several double spreads – which seem to be ‘padding out’ the book. Not that the pictures are at fault; they are well-drawn watercolours of landscapes and natural creatures, but they are not actually integrated into the text and therefore not helpful to the reader. This said, the text is well presented, and well written, with some charming evocations of the heroine Ostra’s work patterns creating crab pots by moonlight, or responding with empathy to the needs of the small creatures who visit her nightly, with promises of rewards to come. The appearance of a handsome huntsman (and with a name like Wolvas, he’s surely a villain in disguise!) seeking her hand in marriage brings warnings from the nightly visitors and repeated family misfortunes. Just at the moment when all seems lost and Ostra is about to succumb to Wolvas’ evil intentions, “a beautiful brown hare popped his head out of the undergrowth” to warn her, all the little creatures gathered like a tide round the villain’s neck (and presumably pecked and bit him to death), as Ostra hopped away, changing into the eponymous white hare, as she did so. So ends the tale – and gives way to eight pages of information – biographical details on the author and the illustrator, descriptions of the three other books in the series, and a list of Graffeg children’s books. There is a little magic here, with talking birds and shape-shifting , and a few shivers in the behaviour of the savage wooer – but hardly enough, page-on-page, to satisfy the hungry young reader.