The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: The Animated Story

We love us some Charlie Mackesy, and that hasn’t changed with his animated story. Take a look at our review here.

Charlie Mackesy’s “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: The Animated Story” is a joy to read. Even if you’ve seen the animated show, this deserves a place in your collection if you’re a Mackesy fan, just for the gorgeous full-color artwork alone!

The plot is close, if not identical to, the animated show available on Apple TV. Readers meet the boy, who is described as “lost, lonely and full of questions” first. Along the way, the boy and the readers meet the cake-loving mole, usually silent fox, and the horse. This cast of characters will seem familiar to people who have read “The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse,” and it’s fun to see the backstory on how this lovable crew of characters met.

Every character learns important life lessons during the journey – for example, the horse shows the others that he has wings, wings he kept hidden because it made the other horses jealous – but this is never done in a heavy-handed or saccharine, cloying way. There’s always a touch of humor, usually from the mole, who always wants cake and brings up a digging competition when the boy asks the horse how fast he can run. As is typical for Mackesy’s work, there’s much wisdom, positivity, and reminders that there’s always been and always will be good in this world. The book’s final lesson is that home isn’t always a physical place. This is a book for all ages and one doesn’t need to watch the show to enjoy this. It’s truly a work of art and I wanted more adventures starring the boy, mole, fox and horse when I was done reading this!