‘The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse’ The Book You Didn’t Know You Needed To Read
Charlie Mackesy started posting drawings of a little boy and a mole on Instagram back in 2018. One year later, the book 'The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse' was published and sold more than 1.4 million copies and spent 55 weeks on the Sunday Times Bestsellers List top ten.
This book is a simple picture book with an impacting and lasting message. It follows conversations between the boy, mole, fox, and horse, causing an unusual account to unfold. Mackesy tells the story of what it means to live life through acceptance, friendship, and truth as their fundamental values.
Before the story really starts, he praises reading the intro in the first place because everyone has to start somewhere. Mackesy says that the book is for everyone, even if you are eighty or eight. Not many picture books are so versatile with age, and this has life lessons for all stages of life.
People can get so caught up in life and lose sight of what is important, so the lessons that come from this book are timeless. The boy starts by himself when the mole comes up, and the first lesson we learn is that love makes you rich, and no matter how big or small you are, you can make a difference. In today’s world, when hate, greed and questionable influencers are at the forefront of society, it is hard to keep your values straight forward and authentic to you without the effects of others.
Mackesy’s illustrations harmonize the simplicity of these messages perfectly and reflect how uncomplicated life can be. As the boy and the mole continue to wander into the wild, their conversations filled with optimism and effortlessness. They have a conversation about how comparing yourself to others is a huge waste of time. But in the modern world with social media becomes harder; of course, this new technology has connected us on a whole different plane, and we meet new people through who we follow. Still, these numerous social apps capitalise on us wanting what our favourite celebrity wants or looking at that person makes those gains or going on that holiday and thinking why are we not living this life of luxury? So we need strip back what we want from life and keep to the basics.
The wild in this book shows the world, it can be dangerous and scary, but we must put ourselves out there to get anywhere in life. I love the quote “Imagine how we would be if we were less afraid”, which can translate to us in our own ways. What this quote means to me could be totally different for you. But give a moment to think about what could you achieve if you took away your fear?
The fox is introduced caught in a snare wanting to kill the mole. The mole saves him, explaining that he isn’t scared as his choice is to react positively to the fox. These two animals do not naturally go together, nevertheless the mole taking the first step teaches us that we can be different and get along. The lesson of acceptance against all odds is such an important thing right now especially when people can be so divided. It just takes one person to take the extra step to build a relationship you may never think you could have made.
Kindness and forgiveness. That is what we need more in this life. People need to break the stigma of pride and judgement as think of the doors you have closed just from those two traits. As people, we know our limit, and we know how much we can give, so that is not to say you let someone surpass this, but there is something remarkable to show kindness and forgiveness to someone who has done you wrong as it is about them not you.
Life is full of struggles, and we have all felt lost at times, and as if we are on the wrong path heading for doom. But believing in what will be will be is such a huge driving factor in my life. Your life is a series of events that have led you to know the people you have met and the experiences you have had. We can make a home wherever we are with love for ourselves and our lives.
When the horse is introduced, a new element is shown with conservations and illustrations that bravery is the theme. Living courageously and curiously is brave; embracing these could lead to spectacular things. These two are the basis for believing in yourself, which is crucial; you have to be your number 1 supporter.
Being yourself goes hand in hand with being individual. To be honest is very interesting, and that requires you to know yourself for who you are. Sometimes we can get into that rut of thinking you have shared too much with someone, or maybe you have spilt a few tears over too many glasses of wine and feel embarrassed the next day, but why? That is what you can be proud of; showing someone the real you should not be shameful but admirable.
It is essential to keep going; we learn as a dark cloud is on the horizon for the boy, the mole, the fox and the horse. These clouds could be that anxiety feeling of suffocating and daunting which are out of our control. It is essential when things seem to be overwhelming to look at what you appreciate in life because “the storm will pass”. Sitting back enjoying what you have at the moment is important. We can get caught up in looking too far ahead or too far in the past that we miss what is unfolding in front of our eyes; our life.
Recently, affirmations that are positive statements that can overcome self-sabotaging and negative thoughts have become popular. There has been countless research and studies to corroborate those affirmations that help purify our ideas to start to believe that nothing is out of our reach. To put it in a quote from the book, when the boy was asked if he was a half glass full or empty person, he replied with, “I think I’m grateful to have a glass”, which is a simple gratitude affirmation that we could all try.
When we are young, we ask so many questions of who, what, where, why and how everywhere we go. So as we grow older, we learn the answers to our questions, and sometimes our curiosity for the world can dwindle. It is up to us to keep that child-like look on the universe and always be ready for an adventure.
When reading this book, I’ve seen that different lessons, traits or quotes stand out to be depending on where I am emotionally or mentally. We all can read the same thing, look at the same painting and still take away such different life lessons that are personal for us, which is outstanding. Perception is the same with our social media; we all have the same apps, but how you use it and what you look at can change your experience to the next person.
This book you didn’t know you needed to read is essential to growth. The end (well, not precisely) even shows that life is special “look how far we’ve come”and got so much more to go. Now I am hopeful that you as a reader can see what life lessons you can take away from a simple illustration book about a boy, a mole, a fox and a horse.