Mumkin

Serendipity

by Stephen Cosgrove

Mumkin, a pony, hates sharing the clover and honeysuckle vine with the other horses of Middling Meadow, so he decides to build a fence to keep the others out

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Horses, Animals, Classics

32 pages, Paperback

First published June 5, 1986

Reviews

[Tami Gandt · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The fear of losing what you have can rob you of the joy of sharing" is the theme of this short story of Mumkin a little pony who decided he didn't want his tasty luscious grass in Middling Meadow where all the small horses in his herd galloped and grazed to be eaten by other members of the herd. Every time another pony would come near his spot he laid his ears back and gave a mean squint. He hated sharing so he decided to build a thicket of vine, sticks, boughs, branches around the most luscious part of the pasture. So all the other ponies decided to do the same selfish act. Fortunately like President Reagan he tore down his wall of branches, vines, sticks and boughs as he realized it was lonely being by himself.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

“For you see, that bad thing about borders is that you have to build them so high that you cannot see beyond them.”

Wow, reading these as an adult in today’s society really makes some of the messages so much more poignant. If the world was populated by people who’d read and taken to heart all these Serendipity stories as children, it would be a much brighter, more hopeful place.

I’m now reading through the ones I knew I’d be keeping, although this one still managed to startle me. I’d mostly just loved how wonderfully James draws horses. Now I’m spending a lot more time thinking about the artificial boundaries we set to keep others away from land and property that we hoard and think of as Ours, making Others something to fear and hate because of what they might take from us.

This really is a beautiful book. I suppose it’s not surprising that it’d always been one of my favorites, even when I was too young to think that deeply about the reasons.

[Darcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, Stephen Cosgrove, how did I miss you growing up? This story is wonderful, the illustrations are beautiful, and the message is valuable without being patronizing. Plus, um, adorable cranky ponies? Hello? This is the kind of work I aspired to create in the brief moments I considered being a children's author/illustrator when I was younger.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some books are timeless. Mumkin is not. Since this was first published in 1986, the story now seems saccarine and naive.

I bought a paperback in the early 1990s, since I'm a sucker for Robin James' art. Stephen Cosgrove dedicated this book to "two great men in Geneva who could imagine a world without borders of thicket and vine." When I first read that, I knew exactly who he was talking about.

After reading this again at the age of 54, I have no idea who he was talking about. They couldn't have been that great, since borders are highter and tighter than ever. That dedication was such an Eighties thing to do, Cosgrove. I was guilty of thinking like that, too, in the Eighties.

Quite frankly, I think Mumkin had the right idea. He just forgot about a water source. If he'd put his border up around part of the stream, that border would still be up today. It's not that sharing sucks. I have no problem with that. It's just that everyone else has to shit all over you. Now, ponies and horses need each other. They have safety in herds.

People, though ... not so much. Paradise would be if humans never existed.

So ... I'm not a fan of the text, but the artwork is incredible. Mumkin is a dapple grey. You know how hard that is to paint? And yet James manages it. You can practically touch those dapples just by looking at them. She also gives the pony herd a rainbow of equine colors, including blanket spotted, pinto, another kind of grey, Palomino, and a killer liver chestnut.

You can go The Open Library to laugh at the text and soak in the illustrations. Do it soon, because you never know when a book's going to get removed.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Fear of losing what you have can rob you of the joy of sharing." This thought is beautifully illustrated in this amazing little paperback children's book. I read this book three times today to our 3 year old granddaughter on Facebook Portal, along with two others (Buttermilk, and Bangalee) by this author. She liked them all but she was obsessed with this one. While I was reading it the second time, I noticed that she was using her lego blocks to build the high wall surrounded her little plastic pony which she had named Mumkin. She then decided that monster Grunk from the Bangalee book would set a trap to lock Mumkin in so she couldn't get out again. Of course, she then needed other animals to come and help knock the wall down for Mumkin, who did want to get back out and share the Middling Meadow with the other horses again. These books have amazing lessons which even children as young as 3 can understand - "Tear down your borders of thicket and vine creating a free world, yours and mine."

I have a number of the Serendipity paperback books which I believe came out in 1986 or thereabouts, and I bought then for our daughter who was 2 back then. I notice that they are now available as ebooks too.

[BC Batcheshire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Someone should mail this book to every single bigot who wants to build a wall between the United States and Mexico.
I'm guessing they haven't read it. A children's book addressing the very reason you don't do that which they demand.

[Madi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Love reading the books written by this author

[Janie G · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such an exciting thrift store find. The Serendipity series was a favorite of mine as a child. I loved to trace the artwork and color it myself, dreaming that I would someday draw these fantasy worlds.

Mumkin is a story of sharing and community with a heavy-handed, but sweetly delivered moral. The writing is fantastical, lots of alliteration and adjectives, it fits perfectly with this type of storytelling.

I am so happy I'll be reading this over and over with my little ones.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Basic plot: Mumkin hates sharing his clover.

I think I got my first Serendipity book through a Scholastic book order or book fair. I quickly became obsessed and collected a ton and a half of them as a child. I would spend hours just looking at the pictures because the art is simply gorgeous. The stories were whimsical and fun, and always ended with some sort of life lesson for kids. I kept reading these books long after other picture books had been set aside.

[Irrelephant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot even begin to express how much I loved these Serendipity books as a child. I adored the artwork and I always looked forward to reading the moral at the end. I remember attempting to write my own versions of these books as a child. I failed but I had a lot of fun! These books will have a special place in my heart forever. I am really sad that I don't own them all still because apparently they're really expensive now.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to this book, and other Serendipity books in 1st grade by my teacher. They are some of the best written and illistrated books that I have ever read. These are some of the books that led to my love of reading.

[Ilana · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series of books is the most wonderfully illustrated, sweetest series available for children. Each book is beautiful, the animals are so sweetly drawn and each book teaches a wonderful lesson. I still have all of my original copies from my childhood (the 90s).

[Summerc · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you like horses you would like

[Amelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overall, but I was sad that one horse decided to keep up her fence. I guess that's life.

[Anie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another childhood book, this one about greed and sharing.