The best present I received last year was a hardbound copy of The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, written in year 2019 by the humanist Charlie Mackesy.
Using a basic, colloquial English reminiscent of Through the Looking-Glass, the four animal protagonists tell a story of adventurous simplicity where valour is founded on love and friendship.
The narrative is illustrated by his own drawings which often act as links in the text. As one turns each page, this combination makes the process of following the tale both delightful and enlightening.
It is a sermon of social relationships told with kindness and a deft touch of humour, which makes a memorable dissertation on finding a path through the misfortunes of life.
I was so impressed by this phenomenon that I ordered copies of the Portuguese version from a Lisbon bookseller to be given at Christmas to friends of all ages. They were delivered within two days by CTT, and I was delighted to find that their presentation in a slightly larger binding was as good as that of the English.
The handwritten text has been interpreted (not translated) with great empathy so that the theme is expressed in colloquial Portuguese while the illustrations have a dream-like quality.
In fact, as I found from the publisher’s tail notes, the Portuguese version is the script for a short, animated film which won an Oscar at the 95th Academy Awards. Placing the two books side by side, I found a comparative reading to be most rewarding in that I discovered new understandings and hidden meanings in both languages.
In October 2025, the author published a sequel titled Always Remember: The Boy, The Mole. The Fox, The Horse and the Storm, the arrival of which I now anticipate with eagerness so that I may continue an appreciative education assisted by memories of long forgotten childhood fantasies.
Charlie Mackesy was deservedly awarded an OBE in 2024 in recognition of his award-winning work both as an artist and as a worker for numerous charities ranging from housing the British homeless to beekeeping in Zambia.
