The Beast of Monsieur Racine
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Monsieur Racine wakes up one day to find his precious pear tree looted of all the award-winning fruit. When he discovers that the culprit is funny-looking beast, his anger gives way to curiosity and two become friends. But the beast is not quite what it seems, eventually it comes apart-literally to show itself to be no beast at all, but the two playful children from next door, covered with skins and rags.
Specifications:
- Format: Hardback
- Size: 301 × 230 mm (11 7/8 × 9 in)
- Pages: 32 pp
- Illustrations: 28 illustrations
- ISBN: 9780714860817
Born in Strasbourg, in the Alsace region of France, in 1931, Tomi
Ungerer started drawing as a small boy. Growing up in Nazi-occupied
Strasbourg, drawing caricatures was for him a form of resistance.
Described on his school-leaving certificate as a ‘depraved and
rebellious character’, he hitch-hiked around Europe, getting as far as
Lapland, rather than going to university. Inspired by his heroes Saul
Steinberg, James Thurber and Charles Addams, Ungerer landed in New York
in 1956, with only $60 dollars in his pocket and a suitcase full of
drawings. He quickly found success as an illustrator and caricaturist,
becoming a star almost overnight. He published his first book for
children, The Mellops Go Flying, in 1957, and went on to publish 80 books over the next ten years, covering all aspects of his work.
"This 1970s classic is Ungerer at his sweetly subversive best."—New York Times Book Review