Every so often I come across a picture book that will appeal to both children and adults. Today's picture book is just such a title. It is mostly wordless, and the artwork is incredibly rich and detailed. Adults will see that the story is similar to our own human story, and they will appreciate how the moles in the tale come to understand that they need to take responsibility for their own environment. There is a cautionary note to the tale that children and adults will recognize and hopefully learn from.
Moletown
Torben Kuhlmann
MoletownTorben Kuhlmann
Picture Book
For ages 5 and up
North South, 2015, 978-0-7358-4208-3
One day a mole set up house, underground of course, in
the middle of a beautiful green meadow. At first he was alone but soon other
moles arrived and they began digging homes for themselves as well. As the mole
community grew, so did the mole’s technological advances. They invented
machines that could convey loads of earth to the surface, and they built a
digging device that could dig tunnels for the moles so that they did not have to
do the hard manual labor themselves any longer. Soon several little mounds of
earth were scattered across the meadow.
It wasn’t long
before the moles had created a whole world for themselves underground, complete
with trains to convey moles around the town (that moved horizontally and
vertically) and huge digging machines. The moles now had TVs, sound and gaming
systems, telephones, and all kinds of other devices. The also had congested
streets and overcrowding. Above ground the meadow was gone. In its place was a
wasteland dotted with mounds, derricks, and clouds of filthy smoke. Only one
small patch of grass remained.
In this mostly
wordless book Torben Kuhlmann explores how a society changes as it becomes more
and more industrialized. For a while the quality of life in the town improves,
but over time it degrades until the moles come to a point when something needs
to be done.
Children will
love the cunning details in the artwork, and older readers will appreciate the
meaningful environmental message that is conveyed in such a fresh way.
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