Mr. Meebles: 07/31/07

Whenever I go to a BookCrossing meeting in Dublin I have to stop by the library discard shelf to see if there are any good children's books. At July's meeting I found a bunch of books from the 1960s and 1970s. Mr. Meebles was one of those books. I picked it up because the cover art reminded me of the artwork from my childhood that I had enjoyed. I thought the two books might have been by the same author or illustrator but that's not the case.

Nonetheless, Mr. Meebles is a delightful book about the importance of balancing imagination with real life responsibilities. Mr. Meebles is the creation of a little boy whose imagination is strong enough to bring him to life but only when he's being actively thought about. Disturbed by the boy's ever growing responsibilities especially in the form of homework and chores, Mr. Meebles asks for his freedom. He wants to be able to exist without relying on the boy's imagination.

The boy's reaction to Mr. Meebles's request and Meebles's fate are the crux of the book. I liked how things are resolved but I don't want to spoil the ending!

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