There were four things Monti Mole liked to do in the morning... he welcomed the day...he stopped by the Pocketville Bakery... he visited the Pocketville library... settled on his favourite rock by the river and gazed peacefully at the water... It was a perfect routine...
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A charming graphic novel for early readers with strong themes of friendship and kindness that celebrates difference and new ideas with a light-hearted touch.
Pocketville is a small town, set in its ways, and the arrival of a stranger causes a stir. Monti the mole is stunned one morning to find Leo the crocodile hogging his special reading rock. When Monti visits the bakery and the library, he learns that the last cinnamon roll has been purchased, and the book he was waiting for has been checked out. What’s a fastidious mole to do? When Monti confronts Leo, the newcomer turns out to be agreeable in the extreme, and friendship is a given. Now to convince the town’s cantankerous baker, Ms Sheep, to stop turning everyone against Leo. Together, Monti and Leo hatch a plot that will have Ms Sheep singing Leo’s praises in no time. This reassuring tale of friendship against the odds from the creator of the graphic memoir Sylvie draws on the author’s experiences as an immigrant and will appeal to anyone who has struggled to fit in in a new place.
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This is a very sweet graphic novel that is aimed at early readers; children around six to eight years of age. It would also be perfect for reluctant readers too.
I loved the simple cartoon like illustrations that make this into a lovely humourous novel. They are clear and uncluttered and serve to demonstrate more than is written in the actual text. It is written in chapter form, so is an excellent introduction to chapter books.
Monti and Leo's burgeoning friendship has much to teach about embracing difference and welcoming newcomers into the community. It is also about friendship and acceptance. This would be a great aid in schools to teach about welcoming new children into the classroom and why we should demonstrate kindness to one another.
And who amongst us would not like to start our day with a visit to the library and bakery? I know I would!
ISBN: 978 1529518566
Publisher: Walker Books
Formats: hardback and paperback
No. of Pages: 80 (paperback)
About the Author:
Sylvie was born in Casablanca in 1960 and grew up in France.She has lived longer in the US than in France. And yet, her accent gives her away very quickly!
After high school, she became a school teacher and read and drew for her students. She loved teaching but she also wanted to study art.
In 1980, I went to New York City for a year and studied at the Art Students League. Back in France, I studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. It is during these years that she discovered — or re-discovered — the magic of children’s books.
She moved to the US in her 20s, and now lives in the beautiful Hudson Valley with her partner, Barbara Lehman. Barbara is also an author-illustrator of books for young readers.
She started her career in books for young children with the illustrations for a Raffi Song to Read: Wheels on the Bus.
She grew up reading popular French comics — or graphic novels. When the form became more popular in the US, she embraced it wholeheartedly and found it the perfect way to tell her stories.
She loves books, movies, art (ethnographic art, medieval art, contemporary art, street art, outsider art, book art, children’s art, etc), strolls in town or in nature, drawing and doing collages.
(book courtesy of the publisher)
(all opinions are my own)
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