Fattypuffs and Thinifers

Product Information

Terry also rises through the ranks quickly in the land of the Thinifers, workaholics all, who scarcely eat, and who rush to and from their country, which is all high, sharp spires and thin railway cars. His first novel, Les silences du colonel Bramble, was a witty but socially realistic account of that experience. miserable-thin war and perfect for adults who can examine the true-to-life subtext, all while reading a too-short and much loved classic. To my great fortune, I recently happened across a passing reference by someone on the internet about the book (in a totally different context) and was able to finally obtain the author's name, an accurate title, and an ISBN for this jewel of an allegorical children's book.

That happens to be one of my favourite sensations - the rush of memories that comes when you pick up a beloved book that you haven't seen since childhood. If you are not terribly impressed after reading this timeless book, there's essentially no hope for you, friend, and in that case the Bush administration has a place for you on its Pentagon War Planning Staff as the outgoing Administration gears up for an invasion of Iran. Discover timeless favourites from The Jungle Book and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to modern classics such as The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. years later, I was still trying to remember the salient identifying details of the book well enough to locate a copy for my personal library. He died during 1967 after a long career as an author of novels, biographies, histories, children's books and science fiction stories.Edmund and Terry find the entrance through the Twin Rock, where a long escalator descends into the bowels of the earth. It was a wonderfully droll account of war between two nations over the silliest and most nonsensical of philosophies and I was terribly impressed by the moral admonishment it contained about the eternal senselessness of human warfare.

The idea is that two squabbling brothers, one fat and one thin, discover an underground world divided into two states, that of the plump Fattypuffs and that of the scrawny Thinifers. Informed by the author's experiences during The Great War it's a pretty anti-war tome but it's other key message is it doesn't matter whether you're fat or thin just be yourself.An adorable little satire with two message that are just as relevant now as they were almost a hundred years ago. Incredibly prolific French author Maurois' children's fantasy about the Double brothers, one fat and one thin, who slide down a banister and find themselves in another world with 2 countries, one populated with fat people, the other with thin who are at war with one another. There, two opposing nations – one fat, fun-loving and easy-going, the other thin, acerbic, and disciplinarian – make war on one another. A children’s fantasy first published in 1930, this book tells of two brothers, the thin Terry and the plump Edward, who descend into an underground world. Very sadly she did not survive many years into my life and the flow of wonderful books, at least from that source, dried up all too soon.

Ultimately the two nations found at the bottom of an enormous escalator (one of fat people and the other of thin people) have to learn the art of compromise to live peacefully together. Whether one is of warlike sentiment or totally in opposition to war, Maurois' wonderful parable about the essential folly of war is not to be missed. Seeing the images above brings the memories flooding back and reminds me that there must have been occasions you risked the sticky fingers and let us have a read. When my elderly friend commented on some neighbours of ours, many years ago, as ‘fattypuffs and thinifers, I thought he’d just made it up.The original French version was at my grandmother's, who loved so much the Fattypuffs, their kindness and their "sieste horaire". When they discover the countries under the Earth they are divided and sent to the warring kingdoms of the Fattypuffs and the Thinifers. Vintage Children’s Classics is a twenty-first century classics list aimed at 8-12 year olds and the adults in their lives.

If you are a parent/adult fretting about a girl who is only 10 but who reads Cosmo during morning "playtime" and can quote Bridget Jones/Marian Keyes/Sophie Kinsella verbatim and who is already talking about diets and thighmasters at age 7, then I would read this. I would also check out: How to Live Forever (though that is more for 2-6 years) by Colin Thompson, The House That Sailed Away by Pat Hutchins and The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster(all of which I have also reviewed). There is a timelessness about this book that everyone would do well to familiarise themselves with, I think. She was really good fun, too – which I think is implied by her use only of her first name when corresponding with a boy of about 70 years her junior.

I suddenly remembered this book today having just celebrated my 85birthday I loved it and remember my edition had a yellow cover seeing the illustrations the years fell away. Whether you are a jolly Fattypuff or a driven Thinifer you’ll be rooting for the brothers to bring peace to the countries under the Earth. Consequently, the Thinifer president proclaims that the two peoples form a new nation, the United States of the Underground.