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Trevor Zahra: Qrempuċu f’Belt il-Ġobon.
Merlin Publishers, 2016 (reprint)

Qrempuċu f’Belt il-Ġobon (Qrempuċu goes to Cheese Town), by renowned author Trevor Żahra, was first published in 1985. It sold out and was reprinted in 1991. More than 30 years after the first edition, the timeless tale is in its third print, so that the generation that grew up reading this book can now read the tale to their children.

The beloved book has not only found its way to children’s first book shelves, but also to the big screen with the 3D film for the big screen created by Mark Caruana and Nicholas Caruana (Fat Lady Productions), titled Qrempuċu. The duo is also working on a full feature film which will be titled Qrempuċu f’Belt il-Ġobon.

The book itself also features illustrations on the cover and throughout key parts of the book. These illustrations were produced by the same filmmakers. The sizable book is rendered even more special with an insight to the film with these images that aid the imagination while reading.

The story places us in Wied Peprina (Poppy Valley) where Qrempuċu and his son Qrempuċellu are suffering through the winter. Their food supplies are quickly running out and Qrempuċu spends most of his day shivering and complaining about the cold, wrapped up in his nest of hay. Both father and son rely on the generosity of their neighbours and friends and the occasional outing by Qrempuċellu to obtain enough scraps of food to survive through the wet and cold months.

The importance of reading deceivingly simple stories, such as this, from a young age cannot be underestimated.

It is for this reason that as soon as Qrempuċu hears about the Cheese Town, he immediately starts planning ways to get there. Qrempuċellu is reluctant to leave the home he knows to go on an adventure to a place they are not entirely sure really exists and is scared of what and who they will encounter on the way. He is also quite sad to leave his home and the only friends he has ever known.

If only he knew what would happen very soon after they set off, he would have been even more reluctant. Yet, his father gets his way and they must both leave their home and friends behind to go on this action-packed adventure. Thanks to Qrempuċu’s intuitive mouse-senses, as well as his wisdom and experience with other creatures, the mice avoid several mishaps. That is not to say that they do not fall straight into others!

The importance of reading deceivingly simple stories, such as this, from a young age cannot be underestimated. Who would have thought that the character development of a mouse could be so interesting and teach us so much about human nature?

A quick review of the most popular children’s books of all time reveals that animal characters have been among the most enduring and loved. Just think of the adorable bear Winnie the Pooh, the rabbits from Beatrix Potter’s tales and Charlotte the brainy spider to name a few. They might be clever or cute, mischievous or lazy, but if written well the best animal stories let you immerse yourself in a world that’s a bit like ours but also strangely, and almost magically, different.

Thus, we see that Zahra successfully writes about animals who are characters first and animals second. And, of course, they always tell their story from the perspective of a tiny furry creature that runs around on all fours, and that will do anything for the promise of cheese and a comfortable life.

The author manages to create con-vincing characters for both Qrempuċu and Qrempuċellu that keep generations of children and adults coming back to the book.

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