MR PEABODY’S APPLES
by Madonna
illus Loren Long

Age 5-9

Madonna’s second book is more likeable than her first, The English Roses, partly because it retells an old story, and the original story is a good one. Mr Peabody’s Apples is also more coherent than its predecessor, lacks its irritating conversational asides and has more sense of time and place. It still comes, though, with a lot of hooey about the cabbala and how we should all love each other. The publicity from the American publisher says that the book is about how “we should listen to our teachers”, which is not its point. It concerns malicious gossip and how we can never undo the damage we cause when we unleash unpleasant rumours on little evidence. In other words, it is a plea from a star about not jumping to conclusions about other people’s lives. The message is, sensibly: “It doesn't matter what it looked like. What matters is the truth.” Madonna has successfully transposed this centuries-old wisdom to little-league baseball in 1940s America, significantly helped by Long’s painterly and atmospheric pictures. The English Roses was 1960s retro; this volume harks even further back. When it comes to children’s books, Madonna doesn’t do cutting edge.

(Puffin £12.99)

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