Reading Club: Children’s book | The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

The SNFCC’s Book Club for Children renews its appointment with young book lovers for September, facilitated by Artemis Manou.

This month’s discussion will be drawing on the book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, by Charlie Mackesy. 

On Sunday, September 18, young readers will meet with Book Club facilitator Artemis Manou to share impressions, feelings and thoughts, as well as to embark on an imaginary journey, sparked by the book of the month, into the fascinating worlds emerging from its pages. 

The meeting will also take place online, via Zoom, on Saturday, September 17. 

The book
This month’s book tells the story of the very special friendship between a young boy with ample curiosity for the world around him, a mole who is voracious and full of life, a fox who is exhausted from hardship, and a wise and kind horse. The four of them together explore the vast world. They ask each other questions. They suffer hardship and overcome storms. They contemplate life. They wonder about the future. And they discover some very important things; for example, something that... is even better than sweets! You might be wondering what it is, so we might as well give it away:

 “I discovered something that is better than sweets.”
“No way,” said the boy.
“Yes way!” said the mole.
“What is it?”
“A hug. It lasts longer.”

Quite the discovery, right? In September, we will be discussing the concept of friendship and, with it, the values of solidarity, honesty, forgiveness, loyalty, gratitude and, of course, love; through a book that has deeply moved more than one million readers and constitutes an ode to innocence and kindness.

The writer
Charlie Mackesy began his career as a cartoonist for The Spectator, before becoming a book illustrator for Oxford University Press. He has worked with Richard Curtis on a set of drawings to be auctioned for Comic Relief, and with Nelson Mandela on a lithograph project called the Unity Series. He has worked as a painter and his paintings have been exhibited in London and New York. His bronze sculptures can be found in public spaces in London. His first exhibition for the book The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, took place in London in November 2018. 

The facilitator:
Artemis Manou holds a BA in Greek Language and Literature (Linguistics major) from the University of Athens and an MA in Teaching Greek as a Foreign/Second Language. In addition, she has graduated from the Drama School of Vassilis Diamantopoulos. After working for a few years in private education and as an actress, since 2009 she has been combining her love of theater and children, working as a motivational speaker and a theater director. She has co-operated with Onassis Stegi at the Youth Theater Festival, where she wrote theatrical plays and directed performances for teenagers, and at the experiential learning program “Contemporary Art: First you live... then you understand” that Onassis Stegi carried out in primary schools, where she organized workshops for creative expression on contemporary art stimuli together with Tzeni Argyriou, Andreas Kasapis and Myrto Tikof. Since 2017, she has been working at the National Theatre, facilitating workshops for children, teenagers and educators. She has authored a total of 15 plays for teens. A special place in her heart belongs to the National Theatre's program “Theater in Greek," with the participation of Greek and refugee teenagers. The theatrical play The Journey, which she co-authored with Vangelis Kyriakou, was included in the repertoire of the National Theatre Young People's Stage in 2018. She was born and lives in Athens. But she dreams of living in many other places too – together with her family. 

To participate in the Reading Club, it is necessary for those who hold a position to have read the book of the month. (It is also useful to have it with them).

Up to 22 participants | For children aged 7 to 10

Saturday 17/09 | 18.00-19.15
VIA ZOOM 
Participation with online pre-registration

Sunday 18/09 | 18.00-19.15
MEDITERRANEAN GARDEN
Participation with online pre-registration

Pre-registration starts on Wednesday 24/08, at 12.00

Charlie Mackesy’s The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is available in Greek from Papadopoulos Publishing. 

Activities for the children before the Reading Club

1) Make a poster with your favorite quotes from the book as a motto. Complete it with drawings and colors and bring it to the Club meeting for us to see! Then you can hang it on a wall in your room to remember it! (If you have large size paper even better).

2) Who is your favorite character from the book and why? How old would you say he/she is and what makes you think that?

3) If you were a character from the book, what important thing you have learned in your life would you share with the rest of the group?

Children should always be accompanied by parents or adult attendants who should not be away from the outdoor activity.

As part of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center's collaboration with the National Library of Greece, the book for the Reading Club has been chosen by NLG staff members.