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The Shadowmaker
A cunning little girl named Drizzle rescues her town from the bedlam created by the mysterious Shadowmaker, a wizard who makes new shadows for people.
66 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1987
31 people want to read
About the author
Ron Hansen
63 books265 followersRon Hansen is the author of two story collections, two volumes of essays, and nine novels, including most recently The Kid, as well as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which was made into an Oscar-nominated film. His novel Atticus was a finalist for the National Book Award. He teaches at Santa Clara University.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 7, 2019
cool book if you like magic and suborn young girls.
September 13, 2022
The people from the town were very happy with their lives, so happy that they were sure they needed nothing else... and nothing more.
And then Shadowmaker entered their town with his beautiful red carriage and a white horse that always seemed so sleepy...
All of a sudden everyone got bored with their shadows. Their shadows seemed drab, some were falling apart like damp rags, some were scared of other shadows, a dismal lot..
The Shadowmaker, promised them brand new Shadows and what an array he had...Brave shadows that stood tall and strong at your feet, pretty simpering shadows, ferocious shadows that the cats wanted badly to frighten the rats, but the rats had already bought them...
There was such a variety of shadows for sale, you just had to desire them and have the money...
Soot and his sister Drizzle were the only ones unable to buy Shadows for they were very poor, they lived in a tin shack and Soot earned a few pennies here and there repairing broken stuff. But everyone in town was very rich, so they never mended their broken articles, they just threw them out.
Drizzle starts spying on the Shadowmaker and finds that he is a Magician with not much talent but could make different types of Shadows... Whatever Shadow you wanted the Shadowmaker could make it...At a price of course.
But suddenly there was tremendous trouble with the Shadows, they developed faults, started sagging and drooping and sadly the Shadowmaker knew not how to repair them...
He fills his red carriage with the money he had made selling the shadows and hastens away from the town.
Now Soot who could repair anything and everything comes into the picture... starts repairing the Shadows, tinkering with them, brushing them up, propping them up, oiling them if required and making a good deal of Money...
Loved this book.
And then Shadowmaker entered their town with his beautiful red carriage and a white horse that always seemed so sleepy...
All of a sudden everyone got bored with their shadows. Their shadows seemed drab, some were falling apart like damp rags, some were scared of other shadows, a dismal lot..
The Shadowmaker, promised them brand new Shadows and what an array he had...Brave shadows that stood tall and strong at your feet, pretty simpering shadows, ferocious shadows that the cats wanted badly to frighten the rats, but the rats had already bought them...
There was such a variety of shadows for sale, you just had to desire them and have the money...
Soot and his sister Drizzle were the only ones unable to buy Shadows for they were very poor, they lived in a tin shack and Soot earned a few pennies here and there repairing broken stuff. But everyone in town was very rich, so they never mended their broken articles, they just threw them out.
Drizzle starts spying on the Shadowmaker and finds that he is a Magician with not much talent but could make different types of Shadows... Whatever Shadow you wanted the Shadowmaker could make it...At a price of course.
But suddenly there was tremendous trouble with the Shadows, they developed faults, started sagging and drooping and sadly the Shadowmaker knew not how to repair them...
He fills his red carriage with the money he had made selling the shadows and hastens away from the town.
Now Soot who could repair anything and everything comes into the picture... starts repairing the Shadows, tinkering with them, brushing them up, propping them up, oiling them if required and making a good deal of Money...
Loved this book.
June 3, 2023
The opening was an interesting enough hook to get me to request it from inter-library loan, but the moralistic underpinning left me laughing in derision once I’d finished it. To be fair children, the target audience, may not reflect closely on the amoral, Reaganesque society created for this book.
The gist of the story is a second rate magician comes to town and sells new shadows to a collection of townspeople who, though previously satisfied now find they need shadows that fail to reflect reality. For pathos we have two orphans living in a shack who are the main protagonists. It was disturbing that the main resolution of the book was a thirteen yr old boy, who is sole guardian of his 9 yr old sister, through his sisters perseverance and magic is able to make money and better care for her, i.e. “pull himself up by his bootstraps”. Said phrase was used a great deal and is not a phrase I believe many children incorporate into their worldview. The townspeople who traded in their shadows didn’t have any great epiphany about being content with their reality.
Overall, what we have here is an unregulated business, selling a product no one actually needs. It turns out it is a shoddy product, and less fortunate in society have to learn to make their way in the world by selling a service that wouldn’t be needed if there weren’t an unethical “businessman” running amok. Maybe find a more compelling fantasy for children.
The gist of the story is a second rate magician comes to town and sells new shadows to a collection of townspeople who, though previously satisfied now find they need shadows that fail to reflect reality. For pathos we have two orphans living in a shack who are the main protagonists. It was disturbing that the main resolution of the book was a thirteen yr old boy, who is sole guardian of his 9 yr old sister, through his sisters perseverance and magic is able to make money and better care for her, i.e. “pull himself up by his bootstraps”. Said phrase was used a great deal and is not a phrase I believe many children incorporate into their worldview. The townspeople who traded in their shadows didn’t have any great epiphany about being content with their reality.
Overall, what we have here is an unregulated business, selling a product no one actually needs. It turns out it is a shoddy product, and less fortunate in society have to learn to make their way in the world by selling a service that wouldn’t be needed if there weren’t an unethical “businessman” running amok. Maybe find a more compelling fantasy for children.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 17, 2024
“The Shadowmaker, wearied by all his heaving and hauling, collapsed on a stool to rest.
The townspeople studied their own rather commonplace shadows, which lolled around their shoes like woebegone mud puddles. When the Shadowmaker thought they'd had enough time to consider their general scruffiness, he removed an order form from his greatcoat and said,
"Okay, who's first and what'll it be?"
The very essence of a shadow is something that everyone at some point in their life becomes interested in, usually occurring at a very young age. What The Shadowmaker does so well that I see in the works of Dr. Seuss is creating such a believable little town with adults that are obsessed with their shadow, which takes place of the Star-Bellied Sneetches, for example. The commentary on classism, greed, and power are all important to teach kids, and this book does an exceptional job at doing so. Everything just wraps up a little too nicely in the end though, and I would have liked to have seen some sort of danger, peril, or just some sort of obstacle for Drizzle and Soot to overcome. I thoroughly enjoyed this little modern day fairytale, and I was impressed by the creativity of a shadowmaker, as I love the idea and use of shadows in horror films. I love the images that accompany the story, which, to give credit to author Ron Hansen, is written in such fun verbal play and silly modern day terms that oddly flow together better than you might expect. But overall, there was unfortunately just something missing from the story to make it truly amazing.
The townspeople studied their own rather commonplace shadows, which lolled around their shoes like woebegone mud puddles. When the Shadowmaker thought they'd had enough time to consider their general scruffiness, he removed an order form from his greatcoat and said,
"Okay, who's first and what'll it be?"
The very essence of a shadow is something that everyone at some point in their life becomes interested in, usually occurring at a very young age. What The Shadowmaker does so well that I see in the works of Dr. Seuss is creating such a believable little town with adults that are obsessed with their shadow, which takes place of the Star-Bellied Sneetches, for example. The commentary on classism, greed, and power are all important to teach kids, and this book does an exceptional job at doing so. Everything just wraps up a little too nicely in the end though, and I would have liked to have seen some sort of danger, peril, or just some sort of obstacle for Drizzle and Soot to overcome. I thoroughly enjoyed this little modern day fairytale, and I was impressed by the creativity of a shadowmaker, as I love the idea and use of shadows in horror films. I love the images that accompany the story, which, to give credit to author Ron Hansen, is written in such fun verbal play and silly modern day terms that oddly flow together better than you might expect. But overall, there was unfortunately just something missing from the story to make it truly amazing.
January 19, 2019
I picked up this book one day at school. It was lying in the teacher’s lounge. Free. And how could I pass up a free book?
Anyway, it’s super short and super fun. Obviously I was able to read it in one sitting, in about 30min maybe less.
I’ve never heard of this book or its author, but I thought the premise of it sounded fun. It’s about a man, The Shadowmaker, that comes into a town that’s full of people who are completely happy with everything they have. But the Shadowmaker comes up with a ploy that gets everyone into his shop and makes them unhappy with their own shadows. He has a way to let the people have any shadow that they want. Now, this may be a little philosophical for a book that was most likely intended for a 3rd or 4th grade class, but this Shadowmaker was able to give the people the one thing they wished for but they couldn’t have. A kingdom (the mayor), pets (to those that lived in places that didn’t allow them), scary watch dogs (to the little kids afraid of monsters in their closets), the list goes on. Though the towns people were supposedly happy, the Shadowmaker was able to give them the one thing they didn’t realize they wanted.
I enjoyed the book immensely. It was lyrical and whimsical. The writing had a cadence about it that made it easy to read. It was like read a poem without all the rhyming words.
Anyway, it’s super short and super fun. Obviously I was able to read it in one sitting, in about 30min maybe less.
I’ve never heard of this book or its author, but I thought the premise of it sounded fun. It’s about a man, The Shadowmaker, that comes into a town that’s full of people who are completely happy with everything they have. But the Shadowmaker comes up with a ploy that gets everyone into his shop and makes them unhappy with their own shadows. He has a way to let the people have any shadow that they want. Now, this may be a little philosophical for a book that was most likely intended for a 3rd or 4th grade class, but this Shadowmaker was able to give the people the one thing they wished for but they couldn’t have. A kingdom (the mayor), pets (to those that lived in places that didn’t allow them), scary watch dogs (to the little kids afraid of monsters in their closets), the list goes on. Though the towns people were supposedly happy, the Shadowmaker was able to give them the one thing they didn’t realize they wanted.
I enjoyed the book immensely. It was lyrical and whimsical. The writing had a cadence about it that made it easy to read. It was like read a poem without all the rhyming words.
March 21, 2009
This book doesn't look like much, but it is fantastic! Kids from third grade on up to sixth really like this book because it is a short read that is very interesting. It is told in typical fairy-tale or fable form (in the style of traditional literature), but it is not a worn-out or over-told story. The book is a fun read for those who like fantasy and books written by Roald Dahl or Neil Gaiman.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews