The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr.Morris Lessmore

by W.E. Joyce

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr.Morris Lessmore” by W.E.Joyce. Illustrated by W.E.Joyce and Joe Bluhm. Published by Simon and Schuster. A beautiful and poignant story about the power of stories, reading and books.

Morris Lessmore loved words and stories. This made him love books therefore! His life itself was a special book in which he wrote one page per day. He would describe all his joys/sorrows, all that he knew and all that he hoped for. Like all stories, this one too has its upsets. One day, fierce winds blew and uprooted all the things. Even the words from books were not spared by the winds and were scattered all over the place.

Morris had to start from scratch. He wandered and came across a lady being pulled by a squadron of flying books. It was a magnificent sight and something that proved to be life changing for him. The lady sent him her favourite book as she felt that he needed a good story. The book made him follow it.

Where did it take him? What did he learn from the lady? What did he do next? How does his life go on? Will he see the flying books again? How will his legacy continue? This is one of those books with multiple layers and a MUST READ irrespective of one’s age. The illustrations are stunning and make the story unfold in front of our eyes.

I had bought this book for my seven year old when he was just about four. It was too much for him to grasp. We watched a short animation film on this book last year when he was six and he understood the nuances well this time. A re-reading of the book appealed way better than last time. It made us pause and think about how stories, the habit of reading and books have influenced our life in various ways. Be it the exposure to various topics/aspects/issues or the experiences we have gained. The power of books cannot be underestimated.

The animated short film can be viewed here.