Marcel
Eda Akaltun
Flying Eye Books
Meet Bulldog pup Marcel, a native New Yorker from downtown residing with ‘My Human’, his favourite person. Yes, the tale’s narrator is Marcel himself. He tells how he loves his daily walks on Hudson Street with said human …
They call at Ruff and Sons for the best bagels in the city, stop off for a spot of pooch pampering at the spa …
and drop in at the park to listen to some jazz. Downtown rocks, thinks Marcel. But uptown? That’s entirely another matter (although it is the location of the American Natural History Museum, which houses rather a lot of ‘scrumptious bones.’
However there appears to be something going on in Central Park of late: Marcel’s human has suddenly developed a particular penchant for jogging around there and, just by chance (of course), keeps running into the same male human. Hmmm?
In fact Marcel’s whole life seems to be in utter turmoil, for this other human – a Frenchman – starts spending rather a lot of time at Marcel’s apartment, usurping his place on the couch if you please; change is NOT good in Marcel’s book.
Suddenly though, he begins to adapt and think that perhaps this different way of being is not so terrible after all. Could there possibly be room for another human in Marcel’s life …
and even, peut être, new horizons …
An unusual and interesting exploration of changing family relationships presented thus may well help young readers understand the confusion a seeming intruder into their close family world can cause. It’s certainly not that easy to accept and adjust to change for any of us, and children especially can feel vulnerable, so Eda Akaltun’s quirky style and light touch narrative are just the thing.
For the change averse, especially, Marcel is a winner. No make that, a winner for all.
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