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Rating: 
Summary: well-written and drawn; (unintentionally?) radical
Review: This is a most agreeable book, and the fact that its message is a radical one shouldn't put you off in the least. First, the story. Long ago there was a meadow in which a bunch of horses lived an idyllic life, nibbling the grass here and there and playing in the sun. Mumkin, one of the horses, knows exactly where the best grass is, and shoos any other horse away that tries to move in on his area. This doesn't really bother the other horses, though; the meadow has plenty for all. One day, though, Mumkin decides to build a fence to keep the other horses away from his precious grass. It's true that doing so keeps him awake at night, worrying about whether someone is going to break it down and sneak in, but eventually he gets to sleep. When he wakes up, though, he finds that everyone else has built fences around their territories, and life, which had previously been carefree, has become intolerable. Mumkin climbs a nearby hill to try and find his own compound (which he had lost amongst the maze of new fences), and from the height he can no longer see the barriers--only the meadow itself, glorious as ever. He is filled with regret at his actions, and runs back into the valley to tear down his own fence. The other horses follow suit, and the story ends happily. It is striking, to me, that the moral is quite different from that in most children's books. In most cases, children are invited to share; in this case, we might have expected Mumkin to open the gate to his new compound, and to invite his friends in to enjoy his grass. Instead, we are shown that the fences themselves are what has caused the problem. What's advocated isn't sharing, but a much stronger (and, to me, more attractive) version of community. I'm aware that, by this review, I've probably turned off some potential readers, and that would be a shame. The book is in no sense a political tract, but is worthwhile purely as entertainment. (It's probably just a curse of mine to see everything politically! Incidentally, I've just looked at the dedication, and Cosgrove salutes "two great men. Together one day in Geneva they tried to see the world without borders of thicket and vine", which makes me wonder if his target wasn't, perhaps, nationalism and the creation of frontiers.) I'm no expert in assessing readability, but I'd say this is a Level 3 book, which could be read by 8-year-olds, and enjoyed by much younger children who like to read about horses.
Rating:
Summary: Mumkin
Review: This is a great book amoung a series to teach important lessons and values. This is the second series I have purchased and this one I am donating to the school so that all the children can experience them.
Rating:
Summary: Mumkin
Review: This is a great book amoung a series to teach important lessons and values. This is the second series I have purchased and this one I am donating to the school so that all the children can experience them.
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