Mechanic Mulle Mek lives in a cozy house on the edge of the forest with his faithful helper dog Buffa. Mulle is a jack of all trades! From a pile of rusty pieces of iron, he can assemble anything, even a real car - with wheels, a gearbox, a dashboard, an engine, and everything that no car can do without. On such a car, you can drive for a long time along the road and drive away far, far away, where everything is different!
And Mulle can easily build a boat, a house and even an airplane - but you can read about this in the next books of the series "Mulle Mek - a skillful person." This series will be of interest to the smallest readers who are just starting their acquaintance with technology, are keenly interested in the construction of various mechanisms and certainly want to know how something works.
The stories about the master Mulla Mekka and his dog Buffa have been very popular with Swedish children for the past two decades, and Mulla himself is loved no less than the famous heroes of fairy tales by Astrid Lindgren - for resourcefulness, ingenuity and constant optimism.
Press about the book
Website "Papmambuk", 15.04.2015, "Buffa, my faithful friend, do you know these words?..", Marina Aromshtam
For kids, it is very important that what is happening in the book is somehow connected with his personal experience - with what he did, what he saw and what he experienced. And cars and various mechanisms are the most important realities for an urban child. ... Therefore, Mulle Mek, of course, is very understandable to a child. And he wants to imitate - in his own games, armed with a toy (or real) screwdriver. And Mulle has a dog. With a dog, the baby also has many points of "contact".
My 3 year old son's favorite toy is a screwdriver. Small, childish, but completely real. Semyon walks around the house, looking thoughtfully at his toys, and periodically asks: “Mom, what else can I make out?”.
At first, my husband and I resisted this desire to dismember everything into parts, removed and hid, in our opinion, “valuable”, in our opinion, battery-powered cars, a starry sky projector lamp, a music book, a winding carousel and other treasures. Then they stopped. Since this child needs to unscrew everything for happiness, so be it. Such is his way of knowing the world order. It's probably typical for boys.
But at the same time, I thought, there must be safer and more economical ways to learn how things work. Maybe an encyclopedia about different things "in the context", or some kind of children's atlas about machines and mechanisms. It is not for nothing that Semyon loves to watch YouTube videos so much, where adult serious uncles take apart an old gramophone or demonstrate the work of a screwdriver and a drill. Well, do not I read the instructions for electrical appliances to my son at dinner ?! Should there be children's books "about this"?
What can a skilled person do?
And such books were found. We sampled two stories from the Mulle Meka series by Swedish children's writer Georg Johansson. And now I'm terribly sorry. I regret that I did not take ALL of his books at once. Because this is a 100% hit on the target, these are so correct "boy" books that you want to buy a ticket to Stockholm and shake Georg Johanson's hard callused hand. Why calloused? It just seems to me that a person who so coolly and simply explains to children the structure of a car, house, boat, airplane, is sure to understand all this “from and to” and loves to make things.
So, Mulle Mek is a skillful person. A funny young man in an old-fashioned bowler hat and blue overalls. He has a dog, Buffa, and a workshop full of various pieces of iron (very reminiscent of my son's nursery, also littered almost to the ceiling with spare parts from toys). Also, Mulle Mek has a head on his shoulders, and in this head there is a lot of interesting information about how you can build anything.
Mulle Mek collects the car.
Of course, we started reading with this book. The other day, Semyon just dismantled half of his fleet and wandered around with the rear wheels from a fire truck in his hand. Therefore, a book about how someone assembles a car interested him very much. I was so interested that he ate the soup without a peep, while I slowly and with expression read to him about all these bridges, springs, gearboxes and brakes. What to hide, for me this book is no less informative, I learned a lot of new words. And what can we say about Semyon!
The story about the assembly of the car is told in a very light, simple language. With humor. And at the same time, it has a good meticulousness, attention to detail, and there is no simplification, sweetness and indulgence towards “cute babies”, which sometimes so shine through from low-quality children's books.
No, in "Mulle Mek" the author talks about the mechanisms simply, but very seriously, without losing sight of anything, without simplifying or distorting words and concepts. This is a real school for a young auto mechanic. Brake pads, ignition key, cylinders, spark plugs. Such seriousness is captivating. After all, children love to be talked to like they are adults. Semyon listened to this story with utmost attention, even if he did not quite understand passages like this:
"The spark plug produces a spark, the spark ignites the fuel, the fuel vapor pushes the pistons, and the pistons push and turn the crankshaft."
So that's what you are, crankshaft!
Separately, I would like to praise the illustrations by Jens Album. As far as I understand, they are original, also Swedish, and it was in this form that the books were published in their historical homeland. In general, I really like it when foreign books are published in this way, without changing the names of the characters, without making new illustrations.
The pictures in "Mulle Mek assembles a car" perfectly traced all the parts. Oh, my son looks at them endlessly. And, to be honest, I can't always answer his questions. In general, if the mother is not a motorist, then it is advisable to read this book with the child to the father. Because dad will tell much more than what is actually contained in the text.
Here, for example, Mulle Mek is holding a mysterious curved thing in his hands. Mom, of course, has no idea what it is. And dad passing by immediately calls: “crankshaft”. Yeah, we've read about it somewhere! So that's what he is!
Illustrations smiling
The text and illustrations interact very harmoniously. For example, it says: “The paint is dry. ... Only now Buffa is dissatisfied with something. Looking at the picture, we immediately understand why Buffa is unhappy: along with the car, Buffin's tail was accidentally painted yellow.
And yet, in addition to technical accuracy, the illustrations captivate with humor. One workshop of Mulle Mek is worth something. It is more like a landfill or a cluttered closet, where moose antlers, an old bathtub, a piggy bank, and a gas welding cylinder have very large and surprised eyes, lying around, standing and hanging, mixed with spare parts.
Must have!
Semyon really likes the picture where Mulle Mek and Buffa are already driving in the assembled car. The entire internal structure of the car is drawn in detail, and in the trunk, in addition to suitcases, there is a dog bowl. These details, this artist's smile - they bribe.
I remembered Sven Nurdqvist with his myukles, portraits of cows and other cute and absurd trifles. Jens Album’s illustrations are more realistic (the content of the books itself obliges), but he, in tandem with Georg Johanson, is very good at making such a book not a boring assembly instruction, but a sweet and funny story that will amuse both parents and captivate a child .
I think this book is a must have for little boys. At least, those who are passionate about technology and cars (and not enthusiastic, it seems, does not exist).
A series of children's books about the mechanics of Mulle Meke (author - G. Johanson, Sweden) will be of interest to children who are passionate about technology and inventions. The hero of these books has long been known in Sweden and is loved no less than Carlson or Pippi Longstocking.
A skilled jack-of-all-trades Mulle Mek with his faithful companion and assistant dog Buffa can assemble a car, build a house, and tell young readers a lot of interesting things about various inventions.
About technology - simple and interesting
Even if a child willingly dismantles toy cars from childhood and reaches for his father's tools, parents are not always in a hurry to introduce him to some technical subtleties. Moreover, they do not give special literature - he is still small, he will not understand. But if you offer such a kid books about Mulla Mek, you can be sure that very soon he will amaze you with his knowledge in this or that field of technology.
Georg Johanson put so much useful information into the mouth of an absent-minded mechanic and presented it so clearly that one can only be surprised. That is why it is difficult to tear off not only little boys, but also quite adult dads from books about Mulle Mek.
- Jens, do you remember being little? Did you love crafting as a child?
Yes, I did. And he loved to build. From cones, twigs, sticks.
- Did you have books about cars, about mechanisms?
Yes. There were books. I loved books about cars, but the ones that were very detailed. I liked looking at the little details. And I also liked it when it was not just told about cars, but that fiction was also present in this. That was more interesting.
Our neighbor had a lot of old trucks - his business was somehow connected with old cars. They often lacked half the important details. But my friends and I really liked to play in his yard, among these trucks. There was something about them...
- Adventures?
Adventure. It was possible to come up with something unusual about them.
- For example, that the driver of one of the trucks had a dog?
Well, I didn't think about the dog then. But I like the dog Mulle Meka. This is a smart dog. And not evil at all. She looks a little like a child. And she tries so hard to help Mulla Mek: when he builds something, she brings him the necessary details. And sometimes even prompts if Mulle Mek forgot something. - And this dog is very honest. When asked, "Buffa, do you know those words?" (“knee shaft”, for example) - she honestly admits: no, I don’t know. Just like my grandson. He is in response to a question from Mulle Mek: "Buffa, do you know these words?" - always honestly answers: “No, I don’t know!”
- Jens, how did these books come about? Did you design them together with Georg Johanson? Or did the text come first?
First came the text. Georg worked at a publishing house as a translator, translating children's books. And, they say, he grumbled all the time: this is not that, and that is not that. And this is not so, and that is not so. The editor-in-chief could not stand it and said: if you don't like anything, write it yourself. Maybe he was joking, I don't know. But Georg took and wrote the first book about Mulle Mek - about how he builds a car. They showed me the text. And I really liked the text. And he liked the characters. But then George and I were not yet personally acquainted. We met later, when I had already drawn sketches for the book.
- That is, did you invent the images of the characters yourself? There are no portrait characteristics in the text, are there?
Yes. And I worked for a long time. I drew many sketches. Such a stack of thick ( shows on the fingers the thickness of the stack - 15 centimeters).
- That is, the image of Mulle Mek somehow transformed?
Yes. First I drew him with a beard. But so he immediately began to look very much like Petson, and this was wrong. Then I drew him without the beard. He has rejuvenated a lot.
And how old do you think he is?
I think thirty years. Maybe a little more. But without a beard, he was missing something. I decided that I needed a headdress. I drew a hat. But Mulle Mek looked too much like a mechanic in his cap.
- Isn't he a mechanic?
- Inventor?
Not just an inventor... Here I live in the north of Sweden, in a city called Hydiksval. There are mountains there. Forests and mountains. And what about the mountains? What world? As a child, this was a mystery to me. I really wanted to know this. Mulle Mek lives in the same place. It is very similar to my hometown. And he decides to build a car not just for the sake of the car itself, but to travel. To find out where the road leads, to which regions. And then he builds a plane to fly over the mountain ...
That is, Mulle Mek is also a romantic. A person who invents adventures for himself. And that makes it especially interesting. So, you gave up the cap...
Refused. But he decided that Mulla Mek needed some kind of headdress.
- Headgear is not obligatory for Swedish mechanics and even for inventors, isn't it?
No, the hat that Mulle Mek wears is his personal feature.
And it is so convenient to shift it on your head in different ways depending on your mood! In general, hats and caps are often important features of literary characters: Little Red Riding Hood, Puss in Boots, Pinocchio, Dunno - these are characters in headdresses that Russian children know.
More Petson. Petson also has a hat. Such a memorable one.
Certainly! Petson has also been firmly inscribed in this series for some time now. And now here is Mulle Mek. Mulle Mek has many admirers in Russia.
Actually, this is amazing to me. Still, Russia is a country that is very different from Sweden. It always seemed to me that Mulle Mek is a very "Swedish" character.
Well, what is so “Swedish” about him that could prevent Russian children from falling in love with him? A man in blue overalls who knows how to make different things and clearly explains how he makes them. Who knows a lot and wants to know even more. In fact, in the life of Mulle Mek everything happens as it usually happens in a child's game: a child somewhere heard something, saw it, picked it up - and turned it into material for the game. Books about Mulle Mek are very playful.
Thank you for understanding. Mulle Mek has a lot of readers in Sweden. The project has been in existence for twenty-five years. Recently, the Mulle Meka children's playground was built in Stockholm. There are slides in the form of rockets and planes, Mulle Mek's car, his house. You can take care of the house.
- Host? Do something?
For example, cook soup.
"According to some special recipe from Mulle Mek?" I didn't know he could cook too.
Not really. The recipe is simple: a little water, add sand, herbs ...
A! And you say, a special mentality. I would say this is a universal traditional recipe. True, we also add heads of flowering dandelions to such a soup for beauty ...
But twenty-five years is a very long time. And new books keep coming out and coming out? Is this a requirement of the readers or do the characters haunt the author, appear to him in a dream?
Georg is a very collected and organized person - unlike me. In a sense, we are complete opposites, although we have a wonderful creative union. But he said that's all: "Mulle Mek and Buffa" is the last book in the series. Everything must end sometime.
But if you have been drawing Mulle Mek, Buffa and the world around them for twenty-five years, how will you manage without them?
Well, I don't just draw them. I illustrate various children's books. And these heroes already live their own lives.
Interviewed by Marina Aromshtam
Translated by Maria Lyudkovskaya
Photo from the site: mulle meck lekpark solna
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The story about the house is the fourth. The good thing about books is that they aren't particularly related and you can read them in absolutely any order.
Returning from their trip, Mulle Mek and Buffa discovered that a tree had fallen on their old house and now they will temporarily have to live in the workshop. Buffa was upset, and Mulle Mek, a skilled man, rejoiced. After all, he had long dreamed of building a house himself.
Find a mouse
In general, I am very impressed with this type of "skillful people" - both in books and in life. Maybe because I myself can only work with words, but not with my hands. I remember with what pleasure I read and re-read Robinson Crusoe, all these details of settling on a desert island, building a cave and a manor, taming goats, weaving baskets, creating dishes. I think Mulle Mek, if he were on a deserted island, would also not be at a loss and would begin to make something, and Buff's dog, as always, would diligently help him in this.
Yes, to the delight of children, a new character, a little mouse, appears in the book Mulle Mek Builds a House. He flew in his little plane, and now he will live with Mulle Mek and Buffa. This little mouse is very businesslike. Either he designs the entrance to his future mink, then he carries something on a cart, in general, he also settles down. Semyon really likes to look for a mouse on every page.
Why is there an iron at the construction site?
About the construction of the house is told simply and clearly. We read it once or twice, and Semyon already learned the basic concepts and new words: foundation, attic, insulation, beams, plumb line, building materials. Yes, and I learned a lot of interesting things. For example, the fact that you can use old mattresses as a heater, and an iron on a string as a plumb line.
Again I will sing the praises of the illustrations. We consider them endlessly. If Seeds is fascinated by such things as the windmill on the roof of the workshop, the old gramophone, the hammer and saw, and the kerosene lamp, then I admire the rocking chair on the veranda, the cast-iron wood stove, the colorful rugs, the striped hammock, the checkered tablecloth, all these small but such important little things for comfort, here and there books scattered around the interiors.
Look how cozy the house turned out. It’s even a pity that there is no book “Mulle Mek gets married” in the series. How many new ideas for assembling household appliances would his wife come up with!
Read with dad!
Among other things, books about Mulle Mek are valuable because they can be read with mom, but best of all with dad. And this is the very case when dad does not have to, yawning, mumble in a dull voice about three little pigs or a sleeping princess. No, here dads are at ease and in their own sphere. How many interesting things they can tell!
For example, I completely missed the name of the device with which Mulle Mek measures the verticality of walls. And the child is interested. Yes, and in our basement somewhere there is such an irreplaceable thing during repairs. My husband came and immediately said that this instrument is called a “level”. And he told a lot of interesting things about the foundation, and about cement, and about spatulas ...
My love for Scandinavian children's writers has become even more ardent and immense. A “smiling” outlook on life, the ability to speak simply about serious things and captivate children and adults with their stories - no, definitely, there is some special air in Sweden, and children's writers are growing there by leaps and bounds. It's great that these books have reached us.
And now item number one on my wishlist is the rest of the books in the Mulle Mek series. And because Semyon really likes them, and because I really like them. And when parents are not bored and pleased to read the same children's book over and over again, this, it seems to me, speaks very eloquently about its quality.
Text and photo: Ekaterina Medvedeva
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