Eli Hovdenak

And it wasn't a bush

In Eli Hovdenak’s fourth picture book birds are yet again the main characters. The book is illustrated throughout by Hovdenak’s characteristic pastels. The palette is dark with some hints of colour in the dusky landscapes. Hovdenak portrays everything that can be frightening in the woods: Most find the darkness frightening, but for some it’s the light that makes them uneasy. This is an original, warm
and empathic story. In this book we meet two figures wandering through the woods. There are lots of strange noises, and it’s dark and unnerving. Thankfully they have a headlight. They find a cottage where they light candles. But outside the cottage there are two other creatures who are cold and frightened. They have spotted a cyclops with a flashing eye. It turns out that they are afraid of the headlight. These
two are the source of the mysterious noises in the dark. The misunderstandings are cleared up and the four come together in the end.