The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

This weekend’s read was Charlie Mackesy’s masterpiece – “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”. And that, was a stupendo fantabulously phantasmagorically magical read. ✨✨

As the author puts it, this is a book on friendship. That of a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse. The book captures their conversations during their journey through the winter, the wild, the storm enroute to their destination. It took us 30 minutes cover to cover. In two days, we’ve (my kids and I) read it three times already. The book is a visual treat. We stopped to savour the stellar sketches as much as we picked the pearls of wisdom hidden in each leaf. Infact every leaf in this book, could be a book in itself. For a book as small as this, it carries lessons twice its weight. Such significant takeaways gift wrapped in musings. “What is the bravest thing you ever said”, asked the boy. “Help”, said the horse.

The unique typography may be a little challenging for a young reader but sets the tone of the messages- universally applicable and relevant. Laced with humorous and thoughtful bits, it’s a complete family entertainer, equally appealing to my 6 year old daughter and her 60 year old granny. You can flip it open to any page and delve right in. You may not expect to relate to a conversation between these (nontypical combination of) friends; but that was the biggest surprise for me and I believe it will be for you too. 😊 Equally to escape the enticing (and brilliant) ink illustrations.

As I pen this, I can hear the siblings in the corridoor, recollecting some memorable dialogues. My Son: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My daughter: “Kind”. Some books dont just speak to us, they stay with us.

Happy weekend all!!