I admit I was skeptical. Yes, the sketchy pen and ink pictures popping up all over my Instagram feed were charming and reminiscent of Winnie the Pooh and The Little Prince. Yes, several friends whose opinion I trust were glowing in their praise of the book. But I still felt my cynicism creeping in. Really? Sweet drawings with wise advice about being yourself and loving others? Was this any more than just a feel-good self-help-y picture book?
But I sat down this past Sunday afternoon for a quiet Sabbath reading of Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse (I can’t help it, I’m putting it in the darn Oxford comma) and now I might be buying copies for everyone I know. It completely won me over. Mackesy’s art, with its wild ink strokes and its tender, melancholy beauty, keeps the simple text from ever feeling saccharine. It’s not a story, exactly, but there is a broad narrative arc of four characters journeying together, asking questions (“What is the bravest thing you’ve ever said?”), expressing vulnerable emotions (“Sometimes I feel lost"), wondering aloud (“Imagine how we would be if we were less afraid”) and offering insights and encouragement (“Life is difficult—but you are loved”).
I hesitate to describe it too much, for it simply needs to be experienced, but let me just say that this is a book I want to meditate on one page at a time. Seriously, I’m planning to do just that—take a single page, a single drawing, and let it sink into my heart over the course of a day.
And if, in my life, I have friends who love me the way the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse love each other, I will be blessed indeed.