Shadow Thief, The (Strangest Adventures Series, 1)

Drabville is a model town, where Milli Klompet lives with her slightly offbeat family and spends her time longing for adventure. Then one day, along with her cautious best friend and amateur geologist, Ernest Perriclof, Milli discovers ‘Hog House’. But the afternoon’s entertainment takes a different turn when they are held prisoner by the wacky Mr. and Mrs. Mayor and a cohort of evil magicians, led by the sinister Aldor. Aldor is eagerly anticipating the Great Guzzle - a horrifying ceremony during which he plans to swallow the shadows of every citizen in Drabville, absorbing their skills and talents and rendering himself invincible. Milli and Ernest must evade the Shadow Keepers and outwit the sinister Aldor before the shadows are swallowed and Drabville loses its soul forever.