Through the Magic Mirror by Anthony Browne (1-Feb-2010) Paperback

by Anthony Browne

Book by Browne, Anthony

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Childrens, Mystery, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Anthony Browne, a Hans Christian Andersen Medalist, is the author-illustrator of many acclaimed books for children, including Silly Billy and Little Beauty. He lives in Kent, England.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[CanadianReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1976, this is Anthony Browne’s first picture book. The surreal elements that can be found in all his later work are already present, and there’s some humour to be found in them, though rather less in the narrative itself. The story focuses on Toby whose staid parents are parked in front of the TV one evening—his dad snoring away, his mum eating bonbons as she reads the evening paper. Toby, however, is less than content with this dull existence. Fed up with his toys and books, he goes upstairs, looks in the mirror and has something of a shock. It’s not his face that looks out at him. No, he sees his back, and quickly discovers he can pass through the looking glass onto the street: “It seemed like the same street, but was it?” Evidently not. Here, among other things, the sun is an orange, streetlights are large drooping tulips, a dog takes a leashed man for walk, mice chase a terrified cat, a goldfish swims in a window, and choirboys fly as a flock in the sky. Men queuing for the bus haven’t been able to coordinate their costumes: for example a clown might have his wig and makeup on, but be wearing the jacket and star of the sheriff and the metal leggings of the knight, both of whom are also waiting and more than “a bit mixed up” when it comes to their wardrobes too. The strangeness ultimately becomes frightening to Toby when a lion walks out of a poster advertising the zoo and other animals follow. He flees, finds the mirror: yes, there it is right behind him. Back in his own house, he runs down to tea. Refreshed! Nothing like the restorative power of the imagination. A visit with the odd, the strange, the slightly scary makes reality so much easier to cope with!

[Jazel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through the Magic Mirror by Anthony Browne is a lovely picture book about a boy called Toby. Toby is fed up. Fed up of his toys, fed up with his books, he is fed up with everything. But he walks through a magic mirror into a fantasy world with fantasy objects and characters. Toby cannot believe his eyes. He walks through a fantasy world with an invisible man, a dog walking a man and various other things including a poster that comes to life.

I used this book as a theme for literacy in year 1, narrative unit on fantasy worlds. The children loved the story and found all the fantasy characters and objects amazing. We used drama to explore the characters feelings in the book and to show their understanding of different fantasy objects and characters. We also used the book to compare real life to fantasy;in this case before and after he walked through the magic mirror. We also used it to sequence a narrative, showing the important features within different parts of the story-Beginning, middle, end or in other words-Introduction, event/dilemma, solution/resolution. I also used a picture from the book to discuss in a philosophy lesson about feelings. This book can be used for various different activities and I highly recommend it.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not what I expected. As a fan of Anthony Browne's, I was underwhelmed by the lack of intertextuality per Browne's typical style, but perhaps that has much to do with it being his first book published in 1977. Nonetheless, it is a charming post-modern tale of a bored boy, and the astonishing place he visits with the help of his magic mirror. The subversive elements demolish that which is normal and include an umbrella standing on a rooftop, a rainbow arcing out of a building, and fish swimming freely through a second story window among many others. It was amusing to me that the book's illustrations are very 70's from the avocado green carpet, to the heels on the shoes Toby is wearing. The plot was vaguely similar to that of "Where the Wild Things Are": boy is angry/bored, boy takes matters into his own hands, boy has a redeeming experience, boy returns in time for food/tea. Children will be able to relate, and delight in Toby's adventures.

[Kawsor Shepu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a young boy called Toby. He is fed up with everything! But this was all about to change when he walked through his bedroom mirror. He enters a whole new world of peculiarity where cats are chased by gangs of mice and dogs take their owners for a walk.

This is a fascinating short story which is accompanied with remarkable illustrations to capture the imagination. I would say that this is a suitable story for a year 1 or 2 class and it has much potential for use in the classroom setting. One suggestion I have is that this story may be used for a role play activity where the children act out what happens when they walk through a mirror. A chance to let them explore and use their creativity skills!

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

One ordinary day, a bored little boy follows his reflection though the mirror into a surreal alternate world.

There is an interesting feeling of silence in this book: there is no conversation (only at the end does anyone in the mirror-world seem to notice the boy) and no sounds are described. The text is ancillary to the illustrations and would not make sense read aloud to some one who wasn't looking at the pictures.

[Sarah]

Another classic book from Anthony Browne(one of my favourite authors) this book tells the story of a little boy who is bored at home, he doesnt really have anyone to play with and his parents dont seem to be interested..he goes on a wild adventure 'through the magic mirror' and encounters all sorts at the other side. the illustrations are superb in this particular book if a little strange! i read this to year two and they loved it! i would recommend this book for ks1 and lower ks2.

[Joshua Denton · Rating 4 out of 5]

In true Anthony brown style there is a lot of very clever inter-textual links within this book. The implied reader of this book will have to already have knowledge of things such as the type of traffic expect on the road and we take dogs for walks, rather than the other way around. However should you look a little deeper, you start to find a lot of links to other books such as Gorilla or The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe.

[Cat Strawberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a surreal book and an amazing visual feast! Toby is bored and doesn’t know what to do with himself, he tries going downstairs but there’s nothing to do, so he goes back upstairs and spots something strange in the mirror. ‘Through the Magic Mirror’ is a small book, around A4 in width and is filled with lots of thick and glossy pages of illustrations and a little text.

The story is all about Toby’s adventure through the magic mirror and what he sees when he’s stepped through. The world beyond the mirror is very strange and completely surreal where nothing is what it first seems. There are invisible people walking, a window of a building is filled with fish swimming and a dog is walking a man! There are so many strange and surreal things and the book doesn’t really make much sense but it’s more of a visual experience than anything else.

The illustrations are amazing and very Dali like in their appearance, which I love as Dali is one of my favourite painters. Each picture needs to be looked at more than once as some pictures seem normal at first and then you spot just how surreal things are! The book is really about the pictures and what you see and I love how colourful some of them are, it’s a very strange and different world to the one we know.

The ending of the book is satisfying although to be honest it seemed a bit strange when I first read it as the ending was so abrupt, but it’s a great end to the visual experience Toby has and the book is a great illustration of how the imagination can take you on a journey. I have to say I do like this book for how surreal it is although I do wish there was a stronger story throughout like there was in the book ‘Look What I’ve Got!’ which is also by Anthony Browne. But seeing as the book was first printed in the 70s, it’s still a great book which I’m sure many kids and adults will enjoy looking at, especially if you enjoy looking at surreal pictures!
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy (as part of The Anthony Browne Collection).

[Shiyi · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover of this book is very interesting and makes me curious. Why is a boy looking at the mirror? Why are the boys in the mirror smaller than the boys outside the mirror? The cover background of this book is mainly blue, I think children will like this soft color instead of black or pure white. The title of the book is in the middle of the cover, concise and clear.

The book focuses on a boy named Toby who is tired of toys, books, and everything. One day, he crossed the mirror and entered a world full of fantasy. Everything around him has changed. I think this is a good book to develop your child's imagination and language skills.

The design of this book is quite satisfactory. The illustrations in this book are very diverse. Some illustrations are a one-page illustration, some are two pages, some are two pages and one illustration. I think this design can attract children's attention and will not make children bored.
I also shared this story with my 5-year-old sister, she likes it very much. Moreover, after listening to this story, she also asked me a lot about imagination. I think this is good! Because this proves that she is thinking.

[Sebrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

In “Through the Magic Mirror”, a bored and fed-up boy named Toby enters an odd mirror he finds, and ends up in a world that is like his own, but also completely different. Things aren’t as they typically are, with dogs walking their owners, mice chasing cats, and so on. Toby is fascinated at first, but decides to eventually return home through the mirror. Overall, it is a fun story full of imagination and oddities. The illustrations start off pretty vague and dull, but when Toby enters the mirror, they reflect what is happening in the story and brighter colors are used. In addition to this, the illustrations themselves add to the story. Reading the words isn’t enough, as the illustrations tell more of the story, so the reader must take a few moments to really look at the pictures in order to completely understand what is happening. Overall, the illustrations do an amazing job at depicting the things kids can envision with their imagination. As I read, the type of voice I hear is astonished, or flabbergasted, particularly when Toby enters the mirror. He’s just so amazed yet confused about what’s happening, and that’s the type of voice I interpret as I read.

[Becs · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I'm honest, I found this book really strange and unusual - very difficult to follow for small readers actually interested in the storyline not just the pictures; but therefore really exciting and interesting for those just wanting to look at colourful pictures of lots of strange things.

The story is kind of Narnia-esk in that Toby steps through a magic mirror (sadly no wardrobe) in his house and ends up walking down a street in which the world as he knows it has become quite abstract and surreal. This leaves lots of room for creative imaginations to work out the how's and whys behind the World, but to be honest it didn't work for us. Too abstract, too poorly explained and with a relatively flat storyline.

A picture book I can see appealing to a certain type of reader, but sadly not for us.

ARC provides free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

[Jenee Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through the Magic Mirror is a nice picture book for students. It tells the story of a little boy who says he is fed up with everything. He has nothing to do and no one to play with. He goes to a mirror in his bedroom and finds that he can walk through it to a new world, using his imagination of course. Many new adventures happen on the other side of his mirror. I loved the illustrations in this story because they were a child-like depiction of the events Toby imagined while on the other side of his mirror. I would use this story with my students to help them dig deep into their imagination. Many students today do not really have to use their imagination, but I love how this book showed the true feelings a child could be feeling, and that if they used their imagination, they could encounter many new things. 4/5 stars

[Mia Fireheart · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story introduces a young boy who seems bored of his ordinary life when suddenly, he looks into a mirror and discovers that instead of seeing himself, he saw that the reflection revealed him with his back turned. This image of his back being turned can represent how he wants to turn his back on his own life, to face a new life possibly. As it turns out, the boy can walk into the mirror and he walks into an alternate universe where the world is peculiar and uncanny which terrifies him. He runs back into the mirror where he is back home safe. He now understands that he should be grateful for the life he has and he appreciates it. When he faces the mirror now, he is able to see his own face in the reflection. This book may be a pastiche to Lewis Carroll's novel which had been interesting to compare this story with Carroll's.

[Shauna Newman · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Through the Magic Mirror" by Anthony Browne is a great book. This book is about a boy named Toby and how he is complaining about how bored he is. When he was walking back up the stairs he sees a mirror. He decides to walk through this mirror and what he sees is so surprising. Some things that he saw were trees on top of buildings, an invisible man, and a guy painting the night sky. At the end of the story, Toby is running away from something chasing him and he needs to find a way out. This post-modern book is an amazing book. The illustrations show great surrealistic imagery. This book in a classroom can help students use their imagination of what silly things they might see in this book if they were given just a few examples of what they will see in this book. I recommend this book to teachers who need to get their student's imaginations running.

[Alexis Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a bout a boy who was fed up with everything, his books, his toys, everything. He then came across a mirror which he walked through. It took him to a fantasy world, somewhere that look so similar to him but was different. Dogs walked people, rats chased cats, its like everything was opposite. This book really captured the imagination of a child. It showed that kids have fantasy, imagine things that are different then there everyday world, somewhere that might make them happier. This book had some color but also had white on some of the pages. Some of the pages bled together which i really enjoyed. I enjoyed this story.

[Hannah Reis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. The story starts off with a little boy looking at himself in the mirror and then entering into the mirror. This resulted in the boy confused at all the actions and things that were different. For example the hungry mice chancing that cat is backwards to what we know. In addition the boat was riding the train and everything seemed to not make sense in the mirror world. Everything was opposite in a sense. The artistic drawings and illustrations were eye catching and the overall storyline was very interesting. It a crazy tale and makes you wanting to know what happens next I enjoy the different aspects and viewpoints.

[Jayme Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting story about a boy, Toby, is fed up about everything being very boring. Everything changes when he goes upstairs and can walk through his mirror. He goes into the mirror where everything is different. Dogs are walking people, people are painting get key, choirboys are flying through the air and even mice a chasing cats. After Toby realized how crazy this new place was he ran back to the mirror and stepped back into his house and smiled at himself in the mirror. I think that the crazy place showed him that he really did like his boring life. I felt that the illustrations were interesting but the book itself did not pull my attention.

[Nicolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a simple, surreal adventure. It begins with a boy that is tired of everything and who rediscovers interest when he walks through a magic mirror into a world that behaves entirely different from his world. He sees the most interesting things in this colorful and enchanting world. The illustrations are painted surreal art that change from one color to many when the magic world is entered. We walk along with the boy as he sees all these familiar, yet different, things and it reads like curious dream. I found myself interested in what strange thing he would come upon next! A great read for a surreal adventure.

[Scarlett Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Through the magic mirror was a story about a little boy who was uninterested in the world he lived in. When suddenly, he discovered a new world where dogs walked humans, animals in the zoo walked the streets, and men painted the sky. When he decided to come home he saw his reflection finally in the mirror and smiled. He finally realized what an imagination was and how great it can be. The book was filled with water color pictures and realism I believe this book is a great postmodern picture book for children to read.

[Courtney Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an interesting read. It starts out with the little boy sitting on a recliner with negative space around him. This indicated a lonely little boy to me, but as the pages go on, more life and color is added therefore, changing the story. I enjoyed how each page featured a different technique used by the author such as, negative space, realistic imagery, colorful imagery, and an horizontal orientation. I especially enjoyed the pages of negative space because each image seemed to pop right off of the page.

[Jenny Dufault · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows Toby, a young boy who is fed up with his boring life. He stumbles through a magic mirror into a world of opposites and excitement. The illustrations resemble a classic picture book style and are very well drawn. Most the illustrations have a full bleed affect, putting you right in the story, but some have a white background that put the attention on the characters and objects on those pages. I though this was a cute story but would have liked a little more plot to the story, perhaps him encountering more of the zoo animals before returning through the mirror.

[Kenyatta Hicks-cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book about a little boy named Toby who was bored. When he goes through the magic mirror he witnesses many magical things. I enjoyed the way he made everything backwards, strange or awkward in the book. This aspect may heighten kids interest and give them a chuckle. It's a great book that a teacher can use with students in her class to extends student's imagination. Also the pictures were colorful, silly, and bright; the teacher could have a discussion about the pictures and ask why did he include certain elements or what could he have done differently.

[Shuang Zheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! This book probably said that a little boy escaped boredom through the magic mirror. No one asked him when he would go or return. His parents did not even notice his absence. When I got home, a smile appeared in the reflection of the mirror. This book gives me a lot of imagination, and I think it is very suitable for children to read. You can also use this book for many classroom activities. For example, you can ask students to create their own illustrations, and then the teacher will have to use their imagination to interpret the images. I definitely recommend this book.

[Anay Avena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to the other books that I have read it does have more text and go with the pictures in the book. This book might be challenging for younger children to read on there own for example 1st grade. This book as a different type of imagination and storyline, it seemed like everything was backwards. Toby went through a mirror and recognized the same world that he lived in but little details were different to him. I do think that understanding some sort of story is challenging in my own opinion but the story was straight forward and had little imagination.

[Jennifer Endsley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not like this book as much as others that I have read. I liked how the book touched on the idea of a mirror leading to a parallel world that was the opposite of ours. This world had dogs walking humans not the other way around, trains and boats were on the street instead of cars, and choir boys rained from the sky. What I did not like was how unartistic the pictures looked. All the other books that I have read had more detailed and artistic looking illustrations, but the pictures in this book was far from that. I also found the storyline to be a bit dull and a bit boring too.

[Alexis Medrano · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. The plot was fun and allows for children to have an imagination. I liked how the pages were all full bled to make you feel as if you are in that scene in the book like you are there experiencing with the characters. The book is good for children also because it uses simple language and word choice and has no more than a couple sentences per page so it will keep kids' attention since there are not paragraphs or loads of words to read.

[Fantasia Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a picture going through the front cover and through the back. I feel like it’s telling you the story before you even read it. On one page you can tell it’s like a background theme, for example it’s all color on one page with a box in the middle of just the picture with small text under it. The pages after have a picture throughout both pages and so on. The pictures looked like they were created with water colors. The book was also very colorful but looked very modern.

[Kelly Ayala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was awesome, I like that the young boy desires adventure and goes out to look for it in a way, it reminds me of myself now. As I am spontaneous and like to go on small adventures. looking at the illustration also made me have a connection with the books because they're so different and grabbed my attention from the start.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very interesting. This story was about a boy walking through a magic mirror, and when he walked through that mirror, everything he saw was opposite from what He was used to. Each side showed the inverse of each other. The story uses perspective to show what it was like on both sides of the mirror. I thought that this was a creative idea and i enjoyed this book.

[Payton Gronsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a creative story about the magic of imagination. The illustrations allow the reader to believe they are looking inside of the boy's colorful imagination. Double page spreads make the reader feel as they are running through the imaginary world with the reader. This is a classic example of a home-away-home adventure story.