The original French version was at my grandmother's, who loved so much the Fattypuffs, their kindness and their "sieste horaire". The story offers endless possibilities for discussion in the classroom around the subject of politics and international conflicts, but most of all it will be enjoyed for its ingenious plot and zany characterisation. The actual book, I hasten to add, is considerably less earnest than my review and has amusing illustrations.

As it points out in an introduction that I think has been added since I used to read it as a child, this book also has some strong points to make about tolerance which are very important in this troubled world. We use Google Analytics to see what pages are most visited, and where in the world visitors are visiting from.Thoroughly entertaining fantasy about two brothers plunged into a war between a nation of obese pleasure-seekers (the Fattypuffs) and a country of skinny grumps (the Thinifers). And he was right, for when Edmund and his thin brother Terry found the secret staircase in the wood which led to the underground countries, Edmund had to go with the Fattypuffs to their city, where people were huge and happy and ate all day long, while Terry went off with the Thinifers, who were as spiky and prickly as their city. I realise that sounds a bit heavy for kids, but it makes them and you think - what would happen if the UK were strictly segregated along lines of weight? If you are not terribly impressed after reading this timeless book, there's essentially no hope for you, friend, and in that case the Bush administration has a place for you on its Pentagon War Planning Staff as the outgoing Administration gears up for an invasion of Iran.

Some of the references and phrasing may be a touch outdated but many children will still be enthralled. Can I describe this as a geopolitical children’s book with an eventual message of peace and reconciliation? Includes exclusive material: In the Backstory you can take the quiz to find out if you’re a Fattypuff or a Thinifer!From France comes this hilariously nonsensical account of an underground land divided into two countries. Perhaps there is a wish fulfilment element here in the final ability of both sides to appreciate what the other has to offer and in the mutual deconstruction of prejudices. years later, I was still trying to remember the salient identifying details of the book well enough to locate a copy for my personal library.

These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. To my great fortune, I recently happened across a passing reference by someone on the internet about the book (in a totally different context) and was able to finally obtain the author's name, an accurate title, and an ISBN for this jewel of an allegorical children's book. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products. I liked the realistic touches – the lack of glorification of war, and the existence of dissenting parties on each side. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

While not exactly plump, I was a sturdy child and had no difficulty in identifying with all the pleasures and comforts enjoyed by the Fattipuffs but the fact is that I cannot imagine anyone, however gaunt and disciplined and filled with all the other Thinifer virtues, who would actually prefer, for example, the Thinifer bed where an alarm clock immediately projects you into a cold bath to the warm and cosy fourposter in which the Fattipuff will luxuriate – with taps in each of the four posts from which drinks of different sorts can be extracted! The Fattypuffs live lives of leisure and love eating and relaxing where the Thinifers love exercise and eating little. I remember distinctly this being one of the first books I'd set myself to read back when I was a little kid.