Customer Reviews

Shadow

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

Shadow begins with the world split into to halves. The real one and its clear, almost perfect, reflection of itself on a magnificent African lake. Contrary to a reflection a shadow is not bright and brilliant, but is trapped and hidden in the darkness. Even with this being the case it comes alive when in ceremonies and dance. The fire ignites the shadow from us, as if it burst from our very soul. Children are in awe of it as great storytellers tell of its hidden powers as it appears in the dead of night. Shadow stays awake even as you sleep. Protecting you from the powers that be. As the fire goes out the shadow reacts to other light sources, appearing and vanishing quicker than your eyes can adjust to the light. As you move around Shadow tries to follow. Objects block its path, but it always finds its way. Yours is not the only shadow, everyone and everything has a shadow that is sprung to life with the rising of the sun. On the hunt your shadow can give you away. If you are kind to Shadow, it will return the favor. Don't argue with Shadow or step on it; it will never do that to you. Even though Shadow will never say a thing you must be careful of its hypnotic effects. Just like the mask you wear, Shadow can be masked. Sometimes not to be seen for days, but as the suns rays are the essence of your life, Shadow flourishes under them. Shadow is not a coward; he will be there even in your darkest hour as long as there is light. Shadow is a silhouette of what you are. Everyone's shadow is equal in the world. As the day gets longer, so does Shadow. Stretching out across the earth, trying to get away from the setting sun. As the sun descends to the west shadow begins to fade in and out. It becomes increasingly difficult to bring out shadow. No matter how high you can fly, shadow is gone in the darkness.

"Shadow" by Marcia Brown

In this exciting book it tells about the many faces and states of the "shadow"
It starts out saying that the eye has no shadow, and how the Earth, Sun, Fire, Air, Water, owns no shadow, and how shadow has no shadow. It tells how shadow has no home and it comes out at night, and dances with the music, so it is a dancer and prowler. It is mute but listens, and goes behind the storyteller and slips away when the fire is out. Shadow does not sleep. It goes on about how shadow has no form. Shadow it does not cry out, it has no voice... It can cast a spell over you... It follows man everywhere, even to war...

This book is a real nice book to read if you want to read good folklore tales. This is not that hard to read and it will enhance your child's reading capability.

In (...)I used to look at the large posters displayed in the school library showing the various Newberry and Caldecott Award winners. On the Caldecott poster the small picture of Marcia Brown's "shadow" always stood out from the other books. When we were asked to check out a book I was always dismayed to discover that "Shadow" was not available in our libray. Having finally read it some 13+ years later the bold use of color and and word play make it as appealing now as it did on a poster in elementary school.

Marcia Brown has translated the poem from the french language and has used an African theme to illustrate some of the literal and more abstract ideas regarding shadows. Through the words and pictures we see the playfulness and darker aspects of shadows. The pictures are so fantastic and rich, truly a great way to introduce African culture to younger audiences.

I agree with other reviews that the illustrations of this book do have at times a darker, ominous look to them. While the illustrations brilliantly complement the text some younger children could be frightened by them. As with any book, preview the book first to make sure it is appropriate for your child.

Overall I was very impressed with "Shadow", the cover alone still a vivid memory from those days of staring at that Caldecott poster in (...). A beautiful picture book and one that truly deserves a proper look.

This book explores the life of the shadow through lush poetry and evocative illustration. For those who didn't understand the book, it is an exploration of the underside, the dark side, THE SHADOW of life. We all have a shadow as does the world itself. A ying for every yang. My 10 year explained this to me. She understood the book, and LOVED the pictures. ONE NOTE: Artwork might be a little scary for a child under 5.

This is the first Caldecott Award book that I would not put on my kid's bookshelves. After reading the story twice my friends and I still couldn't make heads or tails out of what was going on. The text seems to be a bit much for young children and although the illustrations are bold, they carry an almost scary/evil feeling throughout much of the book.

This children's book is a translation of a poem ("La Feticheuse") by the French poet Blaise Cendrars (1887-1961) about shadows. The poem is based on African folklore and on Shadow, a figure who "lives in the margins of belief and the past" and between light and dark. The book won the 1983 Caldecott Medal for best illustrations in a children's book.

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.

I have a 5 and 8 year old and I'm constantly looking for interesting books to spark their interest. I bought this one on the strength of the reviews. Yes, the art is amazing and my kids liked looking at the pictures. But the text simply does not make sense to children. This is not a storybook. It is really a fairly abstract poem or prose-poem set against fairly abstract art. This, for my family, was not a successful combination for grade-school level readers. Shadow may be one of those books that works better as a "children's book for adults."

This translation of the poem La Féticheuse by French writer Blaise Cendrars is an ideal book to use with beginner ELLs. It has about 500 running words of text and received the Caldecott Medal in 1983. Curriculum connections include a cultural perspective and use of poetic devices. Its universal topic is of interest to a wide age range of students because it provides answers the simple question, What is shadow? The vocabulary includes repetition and patterned phrases resulting in an easy to manage load. The vocabulary consists of enough active verbs to be compatible with a CLT strategy known as TPR. TPR teaches ELLs to grasp the meaning of verbs through gestures and actions. The text also is comprised of descriptive phrases making it compatible with Drama and Reenactment. Finally, as a poem, it is compatible with the Recitation strategy.