Shadow (From the French of Blaise Cendrars)

I was concerned that this book would be too intense for my four-year-old, but she loves it and requests it as a bedtime story on a regular basis! You do need a large color screen for the illustrations if you're reading the Kindle version. The illustrations are what make the book.

This book is completely amazing. I remember staring at the beautiful pictures in awe as my mother read it to me. I spent a great deal of time pondering the deeper meaning of shadows as a child. I can only hope that my son likes it as much as I do.

Unusual, fascinating illustrations and story.

In this 1983 winner of the Caldecott medal lies a mysterious entity called Shadow. This book takes place in Africa and the drawings contain nightlife dances around fire camps and other things we have heard from the African culture. The story starts by saying that the elements like air, earth, and water among others, do not have shadows. It explains also that the human eye has no shadow, yet it lives within the eye and the eye can see shadow. It is a mute but can cast a spell on you. The author warns you to take care in the morning and not step on shadow, for it make prick you. In conclusion, for the Africans, the shadow is not just a shadow; it is an entity, it has a soul. This book is a bit mysterious and I would not recommend it for smaller children. Yet bigger kids would have a blast with the drawings, who depict people with their shadows. And the vocabulary is not difficult to understand. Even though, I do think that it is too eerie for the younger kids though, for the drawings and even the mood in the story is dark. The drawings are beautiful and bright and toy get the mysterious vibe from the illustrations, as well as with the words. This story is better for upper elementary grades. This is due to the darkness and the veil of mystery that this book brings. It has teaching values for showing younger children the African culture. It contains vocabulary that is not difficult, or that you can understand through context clues, or by simply talking a good look at the picture. Also, this may serve to the interests of those children who are not easily scared and that actually enjoy mysterious books and themes.

In Shadow, Brown translates Blaise Cendrars' poem explaining various native African myths surrounding shadows. She uses free verse, and it often has a flowing rhythm. There is no plot, just a series of myths about "Shadow", some contradictory, and all rather creepy. She employs descriptive language to add to the eerie feeling.The woodblock/paper collage illustrations are stunning in both their intricacy and their simplicity. Simple, smooth lines belie the fact that they are meticulously crafted. A use of bold colors for day time and rich dark tones for night invoke the time of day perfectly. Shadow itself is most often a faded, translucent gray, tissue paper in appearance, enhancing the mysteriousness of Shadow. The texture of the paint in the background creates mountains and plains that one expects to be able to touch. Brown uses the folk art style, imitating traditional African art in the illustrations. The perspective is often stylized, as is often the case with folk art, and most all of the illustrations are two-page, unframed illustrations that cross the gutter.Though visually stimulating, I can't find that this is appropriate for the recommended age group. It is, at times, a frightening book both in story and pictures. The lack of plot and often contradictory nature of the myths could make it most confusing, even if it wasn't scary. It also depicts a stereotypical type of "noble savage" image for native Africans that is not considered appropriate now. I think it would be most enjoyed by (and appropriate for) adults, who can appreciate the free verse and the spectral nature of the topic.

If you want to watch the progression of an artist, just take a gander at the life and accomplishments of the author/illustrator Marcia Brown. The winner of at least three, count 'em, three Caldecott awards, Ms. Brown began her career with lovely but simple picture books. As her work progressed and her talents extended, she moved outside of her comfort zone and began to take bigger and better risks. As a result, "Shadow" was published in 1982, won the 1983 Caldecott, and remains her best work today. A translation of a French poem by the author Blaise Cendrars, the book is a stunning amalgamation of lyrical text, fabulous illustrations, and jaw dropping metaphors.Before I describe the book, I want to make something clear. This book is meant to entrance. If you have a child that is comfortable reading (or being read) a story about shadows and our own shadowy natures, this is an ideal tale. If, however, you have a literal minded child that doesn't particularly take to stories that lack plots, avoid "Shadow". In this tale the very nature of our darker sides is explored. Marcia Brown, using her customary woodcut techniques, takes us to different parts of Africa. Here, we see scenes that compliment the text. The book describes Shadow with the enigmatic line, "The eye has no shadow". We follow the tale through the nighttime, as Shadow slides behind storytellers and watches you as you sleep. Equally trickster and companion, Shadow is always dark but it does not kill. Blind, it cannot see but will pull the eagle and the vulture if they try to raise it. The final lines in the poem think deeply about the nature of shadows. "Every breath stirs it to life. It is a game. A dance".Equally prone to statements like, "Shadow itself has no shadow" and "It follows man everywhere, even to war", the book is tackling a very serious subject in a colorful picture book form. And remarkably, it works. The text is translated by Marcia Brown herself (is there anything she can't do?) and is a deep thoughtful series of images. Matching the tone are some of Brown's darkest images yet. There are some freakin' scary images here. The shot of the blind shadow kneeling and stretching its arms out towards the viewer... that's frightening stuff. There's also an image of a mask with deep jagged teeth that, though awesome in the best sense of the word, is a bit of a shock. The images of Africa featured here are done respectfully and with a great deal of talent. Who can resist the silhouetted shot of a forest against the multi-colored sky of the setting sun? In the foreground a black snake with red diamonds curls down a tree trunk. Using watercolored papers and woodblock human characters I can't even begin to describe the technical expertise that must have gone into this book's production. Needless to say, it works beautifully. You feel the grassy plains where the animals run. You can almost touch the stone mountains and rough paths that lead people to war.Some picture books are written solely to distract children for a few minutes time. Others hope to be taken a little more seriously and bring deep questions to mind. Then there are books like, "Shadow" that become art itself. The book should have won the Caldecott based on its use of color alone. It's a gorgeous undertaking that will engross and enrapture even the most tentative reader. Consider it highly recommended.