La bottine magique de Pipo

by Rémy Simard

This is the hilarious story of a boy whose feet play an unexpected role in world geography. Pipo's feet grow so fast that he wins races just by standing still, but a good fairy takes pity on him, giving him a pair of magic boots that will grow when watered. After negotiating a trade with a child-eating ogre, Pipo is separated from his beloved footwear. But there is a happy ending: one boot gets thrown into the sea, gets bigger and bigger, and becomes ... Italy!

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Rémy Simard est né par hasard en 1959 à Roberval. Après des études en n’importe quoi, il se lance en illustration. ne sachant faire autre chose, il se voue à la bande dessinée et au livre pour la jeunesse. Il essaie de vivre présentement quelque part à Montréal.

Reviews

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Magical Boot by Remy Simard, Illustrator Pierre Prat- Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates the Geographical story of the formation of Italy. A family consists of brother Pipo, his sister Maria and his neighbor Roberto. Pipo’s mother finds that Pipo’s feet are growing larger day by day. When Maria goes to work on the fields, his mother begs for money on the roads so that she can buy a part of boots for Pipo but she does not succeed. His parents are poor. A Fairy views that Pipo’s feet are three feet size. She swings her magical stick. A pair of red coloured shoes appear before Pipo. The Fairy informs Pipo that the boots will grow in size when watered. She also advised him not put his boots in water. Pipo is happy. He wears his shoes. He runs towards the farm, falls in water. His shoes get wet and increase in size. A child eating ogre appears and wishes to devouver Pipo. Pipo negotiates a trade with Ogre who takes the boot and leaves Pipo. Roberto has witnessed this story. He follows Ogre to his house. When the Ogre goes sleeps, Roberto wears the boots and runs away. However, Roberto falls in water. The boots start to increase in size and become useless for Roberto. Roberto digs the ground and sows the boots in the mud. After sometime Maria waters the same place where the boots have been dug. One boot grows up. Maria calls Pipo and gives him one boot to wear. Pipo tells her that a single boot is useless for him. Maria picks up the boot and throws it in the sea. Lo! The boot increases in size and becomes Italy. I have read this book in Hindi language. The coloured illustrations help the reader to relate and associate the child with the text.