Helme Heine (1941–2025)

A rooster, a pig, and a mouse hang out, being friends, at a place out in the country called Mollywoop.

There is no overarching story, just vignettes, as each two-page spread is its own little episode, told in rhyme, about cycling, archery, playing dress-up, taking baths, and other random and inane topics.

This book was a gift from relatives with dubious taste to my daughter when she was four. (A sticker left on the back suggests it was fished out of a remainder bin.) As with most of the show more picture books they gifted, she had no interest in it, and we never revisited it.

It turns out the book is the sixth in a series of picture books from Germany about these three friends. Auf Deutsch they are Franz von Hahn, Waldemar, and Johnny Mauser; in America they are Charlie Rooster, Percy Pig, and Johnny Mouse.

For those sensitive to body image, Percy Pig is pretty consistently called "fat Percy" throughout. For those sensitive to torture, the three friends tie a fourth friend to a stake for shushing their loud play, "And left him standing there all night," with no repercussions on them.

Not good. show less

What a bleak and sad allegory about urbanization and selfishness. My daughter and I did not enjoy this when she was four despite some of the bears looking pretty cute.

FOR REFERENCE:

Rated “Indifferent" in our old book database by Rod and Adelia.

Published in Germany by "Gertraud Middelhauve Verlag." Apparently translated by the author.

Great fun, too bad it's not more well-known. Of course, there's quite a number of critters who die, and monsters, and one mention of beer so maybe not to American tastes. But I loved bits like Johnny Mouse convincing Fat Percy (pig) that he wants to be friends, by curling his tail the same way Percy does. There are many sweet bits like that.

As a child I would have loved this in all its charming show more weirdness and read it over and over. Highly recommend for all ages who are fans of the macabre, or of tales of friendship, or of European children's literature. show less

I must be missing something. Sort of [b:The Adventures of Baron Münchausen|836924|The Adventures of Baron Münchausen|Rudolf Erich Raspe|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1334784107s/836924.jpg|1232599] I guess. But the theme seems to be that drudgery is ok, so long as you can hear or tell stories. I think children will learn that lesson soon enough... I'd rather give them hope that they can actually *change* the cause of the drudgery.