|
|
|
May 16, 2004
Children's Books Review: Important lessons
MADONNA’S second book Mr Peabody’s Apples is a sweet and simple story for six-year-olds and above. Children of this age group love books with loads of pictures in them and that’s exactly what the book has to offer. It would have been interesting to know how this story would have read on the Material Girl’s plain computer screen and what is its word count? The words can be counted of course but each time one tries, one is bound to get lost in the book’s stunning artwork. Loren Long’s illustrations are simply brilliant.
Although the story is not long, it carries an important message. Madonna, who is very much into Kabbalah, an esoteric offshoot of Judaism, learnt about it from her teacher. She is not really the author. She has only Americanized and retold it. The original author was Baal Shem Tov, a teacher whose mission in life besides helping his fellow human beings included spreading love amongst them. Had he released a few music albums and videos too, it would have helped his story greatly. But alas, he lived back in the 17th century.
He could have also not known much about baseball and Little League. It was destined that his teachings, and lessons derived from them, be passed down through generations to someone like Madonna, whose name is synonymous with fame. From her the story has gone on to be told to the world. The book was released in more than 100 countries in 35 languages.
It was released just two months after Madonna’s first children’s book, The English Roses, which holds the record of being the fastest selling children’s picture book ever in the United Kingdom. Story-wise Mr Peabody’s Apples is different from The English Roses, which was more of a girls’ story. This one is about little boys — fun loving, energetic adventurous, little rascals who don’t think twice before opening their mouths.
Mr Peabody, a history teacher at the Happville local school, is their dedicated Little League coach. During the summer, he spends every Saturday organizing baseball matches with other schools. He is a good coach who wants the young players to be good sportsmen rather than just winners. After each game, he walks back home briefly stopping at Mr Funkadeli’s shop where he picks up the shiniest apple and gets on his way. It is on one such occasion that Tommy Littlebottom, one of his students, notices that Mr Peabody didn’t pay for the apple. The same thing happens the following week and the little boy tells all the other boys about it.
Word gets around and soon Mr Peabody, who is labelled a thief, disgusts everyone. So much so that the little boys shun him and don’t play baseball. The poor man was innocent, by the way, which has been explained in the book.
When Tommy Littlebottom finds out how he had jumped to conclusions and how he hurt the poor teacher’s reputation, he apologizes and is eager to undo the damage. The wise teacher teaches him a lesson by only granting him forgiveness if he is able to do something unusual for him. A pillow stuffed with feathers is cut into half and the feathers are shaken out in the wind, which carries them far and wide. Tommy is told by Mr Peabody to pick up all those feathers. When Tommy reacts by saying that that was quite impossible, Mr Peabody tells him, “It would be just as impossible to undo the damage that you have done by spreading the rumour that I am a thief.” According to him, “Each feather represents a person” in their small town.
Such damage in real life may be impossible to undo but this is after all a story for children. The final picture of a mended pillow and an image of naughty little boys playing baseball from a window overlooking the ground, brings a sigh of relief.
Mr Peabody’s Apples
By Madonna
Illustrated by Loren Long
Callaway Edition/Puffin Books
For further information contact Nicky Stonehill, Colman Getty PR
Email: nicky@colmangettypr.co.uk
ISBN 0-141-38048-9
32pp. £12.99
|
|
|
|
