Les trésors de M. Monsieur

Mr. King #1

by Geneviève Côté

M. Monsieur aime les objets neufs. Sitôt un objet à peine usé, il s'en débarrasse dans l'étang voisin...
Une mauvaise habitude qui ne sera pas sans conséquences, et une fable écologique pleine de fantaisie.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Cats, Environment, Storytime

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Geneviève Côté is an award-winning Canadian illustrator living in Montreal, mainly known for her work on children's books.

She was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and received a bachelor's degree in graphic design from Concordia University in 1987. Côté has contributed illustrations to various publications including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, Utne Reader and The Wall Street Journal; her work has been featured in magazines such as Communication Arts, Print and American Illustration. She has also worked for advertising agencies in Toronto, Montreal and Melbourne. From 1993 to 1995, Côté was president of the Association des illustrateurs et illustratrices du Québec.

—from Wikipedia

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neo was sure the book would be all about cats and fishing.

[Nancy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not really a fan. I don’t think children’s books have to have a ‘message’, but if they ARE trying to make a statement, it certainly needs to be a LOT better than this one, which seems to be saying that buying a lot of stuff is okay as long as you ‘up-cycle’ the old stuff, even if it is all junk.

Didn’t care for the illustrations either.

[Elina Mäkitalo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mukava tarina ja ympäristöasiakin hyvä, että on enemmän sisältöä kuin vain pelkkä satu. Tämän ajattelin jopa mahdolliseksi satutuokiokirjaksi, mutta pitää odottaa vielä muutama satukirja saapuvaksi, jotta voin tehdä päätöksen. Väritys ja kuvat olivat ihan okei.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. King loves collection new things. Once the new things get just a little bit old, he throws them into the pond. One day, while fishing, his hook catches a huge "monster". Mr. King throws the monster on the bank of the pond and runs to hide. Soon his friends show up to see what all the ruckus was about. They don't see Mr. King but they do see a bunch of really nice things on the shores of the lake. Each friend finds something they can use.

Eventually Mr. King comes out of hiding and realizes that his friends are in grave danger from the monster! But they are quick to dispel his fears and show him their awesome finds! Mr. King quickly realizes what they have "found" and finds an even better use for the items.

A great book for talking about need vs want, materialism, reduce/reuse/recycle and Earth Day storytime.

[Kiyoko · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about up-cycling. The message is that it is okay to be a consumer if you are willing to repurpose the items into something equally useless. I would have preferred that there be some kind of social and economic consequence for Mr King's actions that polluted the pond and created excessive waste, ending with teaching that less is really more.

We read this book as an illustrated audio book during the Covid-19 quarantine.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a cat who gets tired of things fast and throws them away in a pond. He does not see the harm until he goes fishing and fishes all the things he threw. He later refurbishes his old things or gives them away. We can use this book in a classroom when talking about littering and the importance of recycling and donating. I think the medium used is watercolors.

[Karine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bon livre qui montre et apprend à recycler

[Miss Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A preschool and up book about an animal who throws all his old things into the lake until he learns a lesson on recycling.

[Bookstork Buzz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let's talk recycling. Another lesson for Mr. King (of Mr. King's Castle) who likes NEW things, LOTS of new things. As soon as anything gets old, he tosses the old thing into the pond. In goes a teapot, a tuba, a chair. Splash goes the wheelbarrow, and this and this and lots of that. When Mr. King isn't buying NEW things (or tossing away the old) the pond is a peaceful place for fishing. But ... Mr. King is almost rocked out of his boat by a sudden tug...

....Up comes the scariest-looking thing Mr. King has EVER seen!

"HELP! A MONSTER!" cries Mr. King. Though he doesn't know it yet, it's a jumble of all the things he's ever thrown away. A colossal CLUMP! Oh! What a catch! And a catch for his furry friends, as well.

"Look!" says Skit. "We found a table, a teapot, six chairs, a tuba..."

"...and we saved some nice things for you!" says Skat.

Well! Mr. King is most embarrassed. He eyes his old things in a whole NEW light. He has ideas to make NEW things out of the old. And everyone is happy, as am I.

A fresh and cheerful book with a worthwhile message, and a good one to recommend.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Mr. King's Things, Genevieve Cote gives a clear message of her view's on our culture of consumption and it is a lesson that can benefit young readers. Mr. King buys and buys things, and then tosses them away in a nearby pond when he is done with them. In the end, he learns a lesson on recycling and re-using and all is right with the world. While the message is exemplary, I kept wondering why nothing more was mentioned about his blatant polluting and the effects it would have had on the pond. There is a quick mention that Mr. King's hobby of fishing was rarely successful, but that's it. The story felt a bit unfinished. But this is a delightfully illustrated book, with beautiful colors and adorable hand-drawn characters. In all, it is a nice addition to our library.

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. King likes things, new things especially. The old things he tosses in the pond. While fishing, Mr. King catches what he thinks is a monster. It's really a clump of all the old things he tossed in the pond. Friends rushing to his aid find the things and love them. Mr. King discovers a new passion--turning old things into new things.

What I thought: Cute story with a good message about taking care of the environment through reusing and re-purposing. The illustrations are lovely--bright appealing colors with soft lines. Pair Mr. King's Things with More by Springman for an interesting story time.

[Bianca]

I thought this would be a hoarder type novel but it took a turn to the materialistic culture where people keep buying new things and thrown out things as soon as they get a little bit old. It was definitely a surprising topic for a kids book but it does definitely have an interesting message. Reuse and recycle, don't just throw things away.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone else mentioned in another review, the lack of any kind of acknowledgement that throwing your discards into the lake is polluting is troubling. Yes, Mr. King (very suddenly) becomes a recycler, but what will he do with an item he can't recycle? Will he continue to throw them in the pond?

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute recycling story about turning old things into new things and not just throwing things away because they are not brand new. It’s a good message that is explained cleverly. The images and characters are likable even if the story is somewhat vanilla.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I like more about these books: the story or the illustrations. In this one, Me. King likes to get new stuff. When he gets new stuff he likes to throw the old stuff in the pond. Not only will the pond fight back, his friends will help him learn what to do with his old stuff.

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book I reviewed for SLJ. Primarily a book about reusing and recycling. To be published in August 2012.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this cute story with a gentle theme about over-consumption, Mr. King learns about reusing the slightly worn "things" he is constantly replacing with newer purchases.

[Melissa Legacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up for the artwork. The story is cute but the illustrations are better.

[Carrie Gelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great message re the environment Reuse and pass on to others.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great addition to a recycling/green/earth day storytime. Cute little story with fab illustrations

[Bubba Mannel · Rating 1 out of 5]

really wierd...didnt understand the logic behind this book...nothing like how it sounds

[Emily Metroka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Not a huge fan.

[Briony · Rating 2 out of 5]

A good story for explaining on how to reuse things. It fell a bit flat for me.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story and illustrations aren't particularly special, but the message of reusing/recycling old things is good, so I gave it 3 stars.

[Trisan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teaching to not waste. Wonderful!

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some links can be made to environmental responsibility, but the strongest message is about creativity and imagination. Fun. Some will really enjoy this, including the child-like drawings.

[Jas Deol · Rating 5 out of 5]

such a cute book. loved the illustrations!

[Windyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really nice book that has a subtle lesson in it about not wasting.

[ReAnna Wolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book about being wasteful and unappreciative. However I feel the ending was very quick and inconclusive.

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant way to go about teaching kids to reduce and recycle. Fun, funny, simple, and with great illustrations.