The book was about a Grandmother's journey to the United States from Eastern Europe. She traveled alone with her shadow as her only friend to make a better life for herself. She found comfort in having "someone" on her side who despite their differences never left her side. The story is definitely a cute one to comfort a child dealing with the reality of having to immigrate, but it isn't super exciting to me. I would worry the dark coloring choice in the illustration would lose the attention of the kiddos. There was no exciting climax in my opinion so a child may not gauge the build up of the story the way an older kid would. I like how the story was essentially a blend of stories from the author's and people around her's lives. I also liked that the illustrator had family stories similar to the one being told. I would read this to elementary level kids and make sure to really embody character voice and body to make it come to life for them. ( )

I found this book very enjoyable as well as a beautiful book. It was simple to read but not childish and could also be appropriate for older struggling readers needing to be brought into history with literature. It is definitely a well written and lovely book to introduce children to the journey of the immigrant woman during the early 20th century. It is the story of self reliance when one feels most alone and the spirit of adventure and survival that brings so many to America. ( )

Grandmother and the Runaway Shadow tells the story of a woman's journey to the Americas after the potato famine. Grandmother was a woman who survived by taking care of herself through a time when it was hard to survive on your own, especially as a woman. This story portrays the strength and courage it took to start a new life, even if it meant traveling with just your shadow. The shadow was the only thing that kept grandmother company and sustained her during this new way of life. The representation of the shadow reflects inner strength to just survive and it is a great story to read to young girls thirsty for winning. ( )

Grandmother and the Runaway Shadow by Liz Rosenberg is an interesting story of a woman who thinks of her shadow as another person. The book is told from the point of view of the granddaughter who describes her grandmother's journey to America and her life once arriving. The narrator also describes the life of the grandmother's shadow in accordance to what the grandmother is doing. The shadow will do things like trail behind her on the stairs and jump from lampposts as the grandmother walks down the street. I was a bit confused by the necessity of the shadow throughout the book, it didn't seem to make much sense anywhere and I was waiting for something bigger to happen with the shadow. I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but the book seemed anti-climactic without something more happening. I wanted the shadow to be given deeper meaning, but it never was, it was simply a shadow. Because it was confusing and anti-climactic, I probably would not read the book to a class, nor would I keep it in my classroom’s library. The book did do a good job of describing how the life for a new immigrant would have been, which I enjoyed and I wish had been described more and was the central focus of the story. The illustrations are paintings that are realistic, but a bit splotchy. ( )