The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse [with] Always Remember

MACKESY, Charlie. The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse [with] Always Remember London: Ebury Press, 2020 & 2025 4to., 2 vols; green and pale blue cloth-backed decorative boards, respectively, each lettered in gilt to spine with penguin logo, and with illustrations in line and colour to the boards; decorative endpapers with musical notation, gold and navy blue ribbon markers; [unpaginated], illustrated throughout with black and white and full colour drawings by the author, as well as calligraphic text; fine copies both. First editions, first printings. Vol I the Penguin Limited Edition with 'Limited Edition' gold sticker to the upper board, in the green cloth binding. Both copies signed by Mackesy, the first volume with 'Love Charlie X' and the second with an inscription 'Love Charlie X Well done for drawing! X' with a small sketch of a mole alongside it. A ticket to the Topping & Company event, where both volumes were signed, is also loosely laid in, along with a Topping & Company bookmark. Mackesy first released The Boy, the Mole, the Foxand the Horsein 2019, just before the outbreak of Covid19. The limited edition was published a year later, and includes a new illustration, featuring a rainbow, which was brought out to celebrate the critical care and NHS workers who worked tirelessly during the pandemic. This can be found on the rear free endpaper of Vol I, and is unique to this edition. The work quickly became a modern classic, beloved of both children and adults. A BBC short animated adaptation was produced in 2022, which went on to win the Best Animated Short Film Academy Award on 12 March 2023. In 2025, Macksey released his sequel, 'Always Remember', which picks up the story of the four friends as they attempt to navigate the storm together. The title was inspired by the author's mother, who passed away in 2023. Mackesy recalled her buttoning up his coat as a child while saying to him 'you must always remember that you are loved'. This volume is dedicated both to her memory, and his beloved dog Barney. "Suffering always brings growth", he claimed at the event. When asked by an audience member whether the decision not to name his characters was a conscious one, Mackesy replied "I am glad that I didn't give them names because then they would be isolated within a certain culture - and the book has now been printed in 55 languages". Two wonderful volumes exploring hope and joy in the midst of hard times. "I can't see a way through," said the boy "Can you see your next step?" "Yes" "Just take that".…