The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (2019) was written and illustrated by Charlie Mackesy, a British artist whose work has been exhibited all over the world. Mackesy worked as a cartoonist for The Spectator before becoming a book illustrator for the Oxford University Press. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse holds the record as the longest running number one on the New York Times Bestseller List. It is the only book ever named both the Waterstones Book of the Year and the Barnes and Noble Book of the Year, in 2019. It also achieved Nielsen Platinum status and was inducted into the “21st century Hall of Fame,” and Mackesy won the British Book Awards Illustrator of the Year in 2021. The book was adapted into a short animated film that won both Academy Awards and BAFTAs. It is a poignant and philosophical depiction of the greatest lessons we can learn about life and ourselves. Although it presents as a children’s picture book, Mackesy has said it is for “everyone, whether you are eighty or eight” (i). The experiences and wisdom shared among the four characters highlight The Freedom to Choose Our Responses to setbacks, disappointments, and obstacles; they also demonstrate The Challenge of Seeing Our Own Worth and The Value of Friendship in helping to achieve this.

This guide refers to the 2019 HarperOne hardback edition. 

Plot Summary

A boy and a mole meet, and as they traverse the countryside together, they ask each other questions. The boy expresses his desire to be kind, and the mole describes success as love. The mole believes that, if at first one doesn’t succeed, one should have cake, and that comparing oneself to others is a waste. He reports that old moles wish they’d focused more on their dreams and less on their fears. Now, facing the wild, the mole tells the boy not to fear it.

When they come upon a fox caught in a snare, the fox says he’d kill the mole if he could, but the mole knows the fox will die if he doesn’t escape the snare. The mole chooses to free the fox from the trap. He says one of our most significant freedoms is choosing how we respond to events. In the next illustration, the boy and the mole sit on a tree branch while the fox makes a heart shape with his footprints in the snow beneath them. The mole claims he knows how to be in the present: staying quiet, closing his eyes, and focusing on cake. When the mole falls into a stream, the fox saves him. From then on, the three travel together. The mole says that being kind to oneself is one of the greatest kindnesses. The boy says he feels lost sometimes, and the mole commiserates, assuring him that love will bring them home.

The boy, the mole, and the fox meet a large white horse in the snowy woods. They play and run together. When the boy falls off the horse’s back and into water, the horse pulls him out. The horse says everyone is scared but less so when they’re together, and tears are a sign of strength. He says asking for help is brave, and we are strongest when we show weakness. The boy worries that his friends will realize he’s “ordinary,” and the mole assures him that love doesn’t require the “extraordinary.” The fox says he carries on for his three friends; the boy, to get home; and the mole, for cake. Then the mole declares hugs to be better than cake because they last longer. The horse says that, sometimes, simply carrying on is brave. He explains that swans may look perfect, but they are paddling frantically beneath the water’s surface, and the mole adds that perfection is only an illusion.

The boy marvels that his friends know all about him and still love him. The horse says they love him “all the more” precisely because they know all about him (75). When the boy says his friends believe in him more than he does, the horse promises he’ll catch up. The boy points out that the fox rarely speaks, and the horse says it’s lovely that he’s with them. The fox admits that he feels he has nothing interesting to say, and the horse says honesty is always interesting. The horse reveals that he can fly, but he stopped because it made other horses jealous. The boy says they love him whether he can fly or not, so the horse unfurls his wings and takes off, his friends on his back. When the mole asks the boy if his glass is half empty or half full, the boy says he’s just grateful for the glass. The horse admits they don’t know the future, but all they need to know is that they love one another. When storms come, the horse urges them all to keep going and to focus on what they love. The storm will pass, he says, and it does.

When the boy laments how far they still have to go, the horse tells him to see how far they’ve come. The mole admits he sometimes has trouble saying that he loves them, so he says something like he’s glad they’re all together. The boy says they’re glad the mole is there too. The boy describes his best discovery as realizing that he’s enough just as he is. The boy says he knows why they are here: to love. The horse adds, “And be loved” (105). When our hearts hurt, he says, we must surround ourselves with friends until we feel hopeful again. However, he continues, we ought not to measure our value by how others treat us because we each bring something unique to the world. The boy realizes that home is not always a place, and he thanks his friends for helping him to understand.