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Mango & Bambang #1
The Not-a-Pig
O primeiro livro da série Mango & Bambang. Cada livro é um conjunto de quatro histórias ilus-tradas encantadoras sobre a relação de amizade improvável entre uma menina, Mango, e um tapir asiático, Bambang, que aparece, ninguém sabe porquê, a atrapalhar o trânsito numa grande cidade!
144 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2015
7 people are currently reading
571 people want to read
About the author
Polly Faber
27 books31 followersPolly Faber is a children’s-book blogger and volunteer reading helper through the charity Beanstalk. With her family, she looks after her very own tiny free library outside their house in North London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 124 reviews
January 3, 2018
Click here to watch a video review of this book on my channel, From Beginning to Bookend.
Mango & Bambang are an adorable duo whose gentle adventures in the big city are made more enchanting by the inclusion of chic black-and-white illustrations with pops of lavender.
Mango & Bambang are an adorable duo whose gentle adventures in the big city are made more enchanting by the inclusion of chic black-and-white illustrations with pops of lavender.
May 14, 2018
My daughter loves these books and wanted me to read it. I'm sure this would have been 5 stars for me if read as a child, still enjoyable to read as an adult. These books are funny and cute, lovely illustrations, colour and text. The subject matter really appeals to my daughter and I suspect others like her, she loves the thought of an unusual animal becoming your friend and she can identify with the main character who loves animals, cooking, swimming, music and chess. Really nice easy to read books with appealing characters.
January 4, 2016
This is a delightful book for children of approx 5+ featuring Mango Allsorts, who lives at the top of a very tall building in the middle of a very, very busy city. Her papa is busy balancing his books in his study and so Mango is often led to her own devices; but she keeps herself busy learning karate, diving, playing the clarinet, learning chess and practising wriggling her ears while sucking a lollipop… Mango needed to keep busy, because otherwise she might had been a little lonely. However, one day she finds Bambang the tapir who is, most certainly, NOT a pig.
This first volume of Mango and Bambang’s adventures is written by Polly Faber, with wonderful illustrations by Clara Vulliamy. There are four stories: Mango and the Muddle, Bambang’s Pool, Bambang Puts On a Hat and The Song of the Tapir. The book has a slightly retro design and the illustrations make the stories come alive and are perfect to read either alone or together.
My daughter adored this book. Mango and Bambang have lots of adventures – such as going swimming, playing in the park and taking part in a concert. There are also lots of friends and neighbours, such as George-from-the-tree-in-the-park and Dr Cynthia Prickle-Posset, a neighbour who does not like children. I am delighted to see that there is a second book out this year, “Tapir All at Sea,” and I know my daughter cannot wait to read more of Mango and Bambang’s adventures.
This first volume of Mango and Bambang’s adventures is written by Polly Faber, with wonderful illustrations by Clara Vulliamy. There are four stories: Mango and the Muddle, Bambang’s Pool, Bambang Puts On a Hat and The Song of the Tapir. The book has a slightly retro design and the illustrations make the stories come alive and are perfect to read either alone or together.
My daughter adored this book. Mango and Bambang have lots of adventures – such as going swimming, playing in the park and taking part in a concert. There are also lots of friends and neighbours, such as George-from-the-tree-in-the-park and Dr Cynthia Prickle-Posset, a neighbour who does not like children. I am delighted to see that there is a second book out this year, “Tapir All at Sea,” and I know my daughter cannot wait to read more of Mango and Bambang’s adventures.
August 28, 2020
This book was a delight on many levels!
The illustrations are wonderful! Remarkably, we realized that we had checked out three separate stories illustrated by Clara Vulliamy from the library in the same week -- and she was a new-to-us illustrator. What odds! (If you love the illustration style in Mango & Bambang, be sure to check out the equally delightful Digby O'Day in the Fast Lane series.) I love that Vulliamy's illustrations are at once sweetly nostalgic yet also contemporary (I almost felt that this book could have been set in the 1920s except for the modern-looking cityscape and vehicles and the fact that Mango is taking karate lessons).
I also loved Faber's writing style. Totally my cup of tea, just a delight to read. I love the sensitivity with which Mango regards Bambang, how she thinks of his feelings and needs. I love that she regards him as a friend and a guest, his dependence on her while he is in the city, but never losing sight of the fact that he is a wild creature and belongs only to himself. I love the way Bambang finds his courage and, eventually, helps Mango in return (the chapter where Mango discovers the true meaning of music is beautiful!) Mango is kind, resourceful, intelligent and (generally) very polite, yet she is not a goody-two-shoes. I would very much enjoy to read more of their adventures together.
My only criticism of the book is that there are few instances where I felt the tone was discordantly harsh compared to the rest of the gentle tale. For example, when one of the bystanders wanting Bambang to stop creating a roadblock says, "Send in the air force! Mobilize the army! Press the big red button that fires the big fat bomb!" Or the part where Mango stumbles upon the villain's collection of pickled puffer fish, crate of assorted large bones, part of a rhino, and a "mysterious box labeled MUSTACHES OF FAMOUS MURDERERS" Just felt like it went a tad too far for this age group. (Speaking of the age group, the vocabulary is more advanced than most of the heavily illustrated chapter books I've come across lately, so might be better as a read-aloud depending on the reading level of your youngster.)
Other than that, I very much enjoyed the book. My children were not too into it. My youngest found the tapir in peril bit too distressing and the oldest one seemed mildy interested but hasn't mentioned it since we read it so not a glowing review there, either. This is the only book in the series that my library district owns so I am going to try ILL to get Book #2 for myself.
The illustrations are wonderful! Remarkably, we realized that we had checked out three separate stories illustrated by Clara Vulliamy from the library in the same week -- and she was a new-to-us illustrator. What odds! (If you love the illustration style in Mango & Bambang, be sure to check out the equally delightful Digby O'Day in the Fast Lane series.) I love that Vulliamy's illustrations are at once sweetly nostalgic yet also contemporary (I almost felt that this book could have been set in the 1920s except for the modern-looking cityscape and vehicles and the fact that Mango is taking karate lessons).
I also loved Faber's writing style. Totally my cup of tea, just a delight to read. I love the sensitivity with which Mango regards Bambang, how she thinks of his feelings and needs. I love that she regards him as a friend and a guest, his dependence on her while he is in the city, but never losing sight of the fact that he is a wild creature and belongs only to himself. I love the way Bambang finds his courage and, eventually, helps Mango in return (the chapter where Mango discovers the true meaning of music is beautiful!) Mango is kind, resourceful, intelligent and (generally) very polite, yet she is not a goody-two-shoes. I would very much enjoy to read more of their adventures together.
My only criticism of the book is that there are few instances where I felt the tone was discordantly harsh compared to the rest of the gentle tale. For example, when one of the bystanders wanting Bambang to stop creating a roadblock says, "Send in the air force! Mobilize the army! Press the big red button that fires the big fat bomb!" Or the part where Mango stumbles upon the villain's collection of pickled puffer fish, crate of assorted large bones, part of a rhino, and a "mysterious box labeled MUSTACHES OF FAMOUS MURDERERS" Just felt like it went a tad too far for this age group. (Speaking of the age group, the vocabulary is more advanced than most of the heavily illustrated chapter books I've come across lately, so might be better as a read-aloud depending on the reading level of your youngster.)
Other than that, I very much enjoyed the book. My children were not too into it. My youngest found the tapir in peril bit too distressing and the oldest one seemed mildy interested but hasn't mentioned it since we read it so not a glowing review there, either. This is the only book in the series that my library district owns so I am going to try ILL to get Book #2 for myself.
February 6, 2016
I've never been the timeliest of book bloggers.
A part of that stems from the books that I love; those richly layered books that speak of a classical sensibility and timeless potency, and those books about girls at boarding schools in Austria. I read books from 1901 alongside those from 2015, and I love to find the dialogues between them. The ties of literature. The golden ties of British children's literature. The building blocks of our national literary voice.
I heard about Mango and Bambang a long time ago and I was thrilled. Intensely, madly, because I was lucky enough to know both Polly Faber and Clara Vulliamy online and I was, and am, a fan of their work. Vulliamy's work is something I have blogged about before, for her art is nuanced and clever, subtle and generous, a frank delight in every page. Rich, too, with the layered detail present in them, and that clever, clever eye towards the reader. Always. A consciousness of the view and artwork that revels in such. I love her work, truly. In Mango and Bambang, Vulliamy illustrates four deliciously sized stories from Polly Faber, a blogger who I've similarly admired for a while. Faber's generous and lovely and rich writing is a delight.
And so, to this book, which I was both gleeful over and mildly terrified, because I wondered in that British way of always seeing the best in things : what if I didn't like it?
But I did.
Oh reader, how I did. How to begin to describe this package of utter loveliness, of a charming and warmly detailed friendship between a lonely girl and a tapir? Mango and Bambang is ferociously eccentric, rather brilliantly so, but through that eccentricity carves itself a space that makes me think of E Nesbit and Dodie Smith, and I love that. I love that little tingle on the back of my spine that makes me think of golden age authors, because then I know that I like this book. I like it a lot.
I like the honesty of Faber's writing; the sympathetic, warm, honesty of it. The introduction of Mango, talks about her being busy because "being busy was important, living in a very busy city, full of other busy people being good at things / Because otherwise Mango might have been a little bit lonely". Listen to that. Say it out loud. Books live in the mind but they also live in the voice, in that little stuttering sliding truth at the end of that quote. Truth says itself, and oh Faber gets that. She also gets the rich delicious humour at the heart of any friendship between a girl and a tapir: "Mango and Bambang hid, not terribly successfully, behind a lamppost"
The dialogue between text and image is wonderful; exuberant in some points, where Mango barks orders at the frenetic cityscape, and poignant at others, intensely so, when Mango stands in spotlighted isolation and the words are almost pushed off page because there isn't enough space for them: "She looked / smaller than / usual on / her own / under the / lights." It's small stuff, but God, it's clever.
I suspect I'm burbling. I would burble more if I gave you this review in person. If I did, I'd pull your attention to the moment where Bambang wears Mango's spare swimming hut and show you potentially the most beautiful and loving sketch of a proud, slightly self-conscious but very much loving his life, tapir. Possibly the only example of such in existence, but when it's this good, why seek for competition?
I've never been the timeliest of book bloggers. I heard about Mango and Bambang a long time ago, and I loved it then, and I think I might marry it now.
This book is good. So, so, utterly perfectly so. It's golden.
A part of that stems from the books that I love; those richly layered books that speak of a classical sensibility and timeless potency, and those books about girls at boarding schools in Austria. I read books from 1901 alongside those from 2015, and I love to find the dialogues between them. The ties of literature. The golden ties of British children's literature. The building blocks of our national literary voice.
I heard about Mango and Bambang a long time ago and I was thrilled. Intensely, madly, because I was lucky enough to know both Polly Faber and Clara Vulliamy online and I was, and am, a fan of their work. Vulliamy's work is something I have blogged about before, for her art is nuanced and clever, subtle and generous, a frank delight in every page. Rich, too, with the layered detail present in them, and that clever, clever eye towards the reader. Always. A consciousness of the view and artwork that revels in such. I love her work, truly. In Mango and Bambang, Vulliamy illustrates four deliciously sized stories from Polly Faber, a blogger who I've similarly admired for a while. Faber's generous and lovely and rich writing is a delight.
And so, to this book, which I was both gleeful over and mildly terrified, because I wondered in that British way of always seeing the best in things : what if I didn't like it?
But I did.
Oh reader, how I did. How to begin to describe this package of utter loveliness, of a charming and warmly detailed friendship between a lonely girl and a tapir? Mango and Bambang is ferociously eccentric, rather brilliantly so, but through that eccentricity carves itself a space that makes me think of E Nesbit and Dodie Smith, and I love that. I love that little tingle on the back of my spine that makes me think of golden age authors, because then I know that I like this book. I like it a lot.
I like the honesty of Faber's writing; the sympathetic, warm, honesty of it. The introduction of Mango, talks about her being busy because "being busy was important, living in a very busy city, full of other busy people being good at things / Because otherwise Mango might have been a little bit lonely". Listen to that. Say it out loud. Books live in the mind but they also live in the voice, in that little stuttering sliding truth at the end of that quote. Truth says itself, and oh Faber gets that. She also gets the rich delicious humour at the heart of any friendship between a girl and a tapir: "Mango and Bambang hid, not terribly successfully, behind a lamppost"
The dialogue between text and image is wonderful; exuberant in some points, where Mango barks orders at the frenetic cityscape, and poignant at others, intensely so, when Mango stands in spotlighted isolation and the words are almost pushed off page because there isn't enough space for them: "She looked / smaller than / usual on / her own / under the / lights." It's small stuff, but God, it's clever.
I suspect I'm burbling. I would burble more if I gave you this review in person. If I did, I'd pull your attention to the moment where Bambang wears Mango's spare swimming hut and show you potentially the most beautiful and loving sketch of a proud, slightly self-conscious but very much loving his life, tapir. Possibly the only example of such in existence, but when it's this good, why seek for competition?
I've never been the timeliest of book bloggers. I heard about Mango and Bambang a long time ago, and I loved it then, and I think I might marry it now.
This book is good. So, so, utterly perfectly so. It's golden.
August 17, 2019
This delightful first collection of stories dedicated to the adventures of a young London girl named Mango Allsorts and her tapir friend Bambang opens with Mango and the Muddle, which follows its eponymous heroine as she encounters her first tapir, cowering on a zebra crossing. After much comforting - Bambang had been running from a tiger for some time, and was convinced every moving object was the appearance of that animal - and some take-charge attitude with regard to some of the officious adults present, Mango convinces her new friend to come home with her for banana pancakes, syrup and cream. In Bambang's Pool, our favorite tapir, now living with Mango in London, runs away from the swimming pool when his efforts at diving get him in trouble with the lifeguard. Mango must track him down in the park, with the help of a tree-climbing, toffee-eating boy named George. Bambang Puts on a Hat sees girl and tapir confronting the nasty Dr. Cynthia Prickle-Posset, a collector of unusual specimens, who attempts to capture Bambang after his hi-jinks on the apartment-building stairs. Finally, in The Song of the Tapir, Bambang helps Mango to see the beauty in the clarinet piece she has been practicing for a concert, and conquers his own fears, to join her on stage during the performance.
Published this past autumn in the UK, Mango & Bambang: The Not-a-Pig is due out in the USA this coming spring, which is cause for celebration! With an engaging tale of a girl who is good at all sorts of things, but who is lacking in companionship, and a timid tapir who learns to conquer some of his fears and to embrace the adventures that friendship with a little girl can bring; as well as charming illustrations that capture the emotional register of each scene (not to mention the frequent fun!), this is a book that is sure to appeal to younger children who are just getting started with chapter-books. I appreciated Mango's sensitivity to the needs of her new friend, and the fact that for all her many virtues and talents, she is not without flaw, and occasionally needs help herself. As for Bambang, he is simply adorable, and will cause more than one child to long for a tapir for a friend. I also enjoyed Clara Vulliamy's judicious use of color here - her illustrations are done in black, white and purple - and the inclusion of various type-faces - different sizes, different orientations on the page - in her artwork. All in all, a lovely little book, one I would recommend to beginning chapter-book readers. I am glad indeed that it will be available to American children!
Published this past autumn in the UK, Mango & Bambang: The Not-a-Pig is due out in the USA this coming spring, which is cause for celebration! With an engaging tale of a girl who is good at all sorts of things, but who is lacking in companionship, and a timid tapir who learns to conquer some of his fears and to embrace the adventures that friendship with a little girl can bring; as well as charming illustrations that capture the emotional register of each scene (not to mention the frequent fun!), this is a book that is sure to appeal to younger children who are just getting started with chapter-books. I appreciated Mango's sensitivity to the needs of her new friend, and the fact that for all her many virtues and talents, she is not without flaw, and occasionally needs help herself. As for Bambang, he is simply adorable, and will cause more than one child to long for a tapir for a friend. I also enjoyed Clara Vulliamy's judicious use of color here - her illustrations are done in black, white and purple - and the inclusion of various type-faces - different sizes, different orientations on the page - in her artwork. All in all, a lovely little book, one I would recommend to beginning chapter-book readers. I am glad indeed that it will be available to American children!
November 7, 2019
Superbra kvällsläsning här hemma. Fina bilder, varje kapitel avslutas samtidigt som de hör ihop.
March 20, 2020
A lovely little book for those newly independent readers with a little more stamina than what it would take to read a shorter novella. This small-hand-sized collection of four short stories tells the tale of Mango and her capers with the Asian tapir, Bambang.
The first story unites our two protagonists. Mango finds a very lost and misclassified tapir on the city streets and decides to take him under her wing. Strong willed, brave and confident, she and her friend George, make sure that Bambang is safe and well-loved. The others expand on this relationship.
The story is rich with Clara Vulliamy’s mauve, white and black illustrations which accompany each and every page. The first in the series so if any child is smitten with these adventures, more await.
The first story unites our two protagonists. Mango finds a very lost and misclassified tapir on the city streets and decides to take him under her wing. Strong willed, brave and confident, she and her friend George, make sure that Bambang is safe and well-loved. The others expand on this relationship.
The story is rich with Clara Vulliamy’s mauve, white and black illustrations which accompany each and every page. The first in the series so if any child is smitten with these adventures, more await.
June 17, 2015
Very cute! I love that her name is Mango Allsorts because she's a girl who is good at all sorts of things.
October 7, 2016
Now I want to have a not-a-pig like Bambang. I thought that the Comfy Hat was the nicest.
For children 5-7 y.o., 4 short stories.
Loved the cover and decided to buy it. Loved it all! Very funny!
For children 5-7 y.o., 4 short stories.
Loved the cover and decided to buy it. Loved it all! Very funny!
February 1, 2018
I must thank YouTube vlogger, Hannah, of 'From Beginning to Bookend' for reviewing this book, therefore bringing it to my attention. It's everything she said it was. So charming, so cute, so original. What a novel idea to have a little girl be besties with a tapir? I think it is important for children (and adults) to read stories of loyal, caring friendships - this stands as both a friendship to emulate and a friendship of diversity. The story is touching and the illustrations are wonderful. I will continue to follow this series just because....it makes me feel good. :)
June 10, 2016
Mango Allsorts is a girl who can do lots of things. She’s confident, kind, and capable. Mango lives with her very busy father in a very busy city, and even though she tries to be very busy herself, sometimes she feels lonely. That is until she meets Bambang, the tapir that has strayed far from his Malaysian jungle. In these four short stories, Mango and Bambang go on fun adventures and learn to overcome their fears together. They go swimming when Bambang is homesick for his pond, escape from the eccentric neighbor Dr. Cynthia Prickle-Posset, and perform at a concert together. Through all their adventures, the best friends prove that Bambang is certainly not a pig at all, but something more special.
Mango and Bambang: The Not-a-Pig is an exciting, accessible, and well-crafted story for young readers that teaches about friendship and overcoming fear. The illustrations by Clara Vulliamy bring the story to life and engage readers by adding to the text. Children of all ages will enjoy the funny situations that Mango and Bambang find themselves in, and adults (parents and teachers alike) will find this book helpful in teaching about kindness, hard work, and acceptance. Mango is a bright child who helps Bambang adjust to city life and teaches him about never giving up, even when things are hard. An outstanding work, the series should be a great addition to any reader’s collection.
Mango and Bambang: The Not-a-Pig is an exciting, accessible, and well-crafted story for young readers that teaches about friendship and overcoming fear. The illustrations by Clara Vulliamy bring the story to life and engage readers by adding to the text. Children of all ages will enjoy the funny situations that Mango and Bambang find themselves in, and adults (parents and teachers alike) will find this book helpful in teaching about kindness, hard work, and acceptance. Mango is a bright child who helps Bambang adjust to city life and teaches him about never giving up, even when things are hard. An outstanding work, the series should be a great addition to any reader’s collection.
July 12, 2016
In this new (at least, in America) early chapter book, a girl who is quite good at most things befriends a tapir. In four tales, they get into mini-adventures, meeting new friends and new enemies, and discovering friendship is a great way to tackle new unfamiliar challenges.
The only thing that bothered me, and it's only because I'm a crotchety old man, is that in one of the stories, they were walking around by themselves at midnight. In fact, there may have been other of these little instances that may have made me not like the book as much. But I'm sure I'm the only one who overthought them.
I love the design and, as I guessed, each book will have its own unique color scheme.
The only thing that bothered me, and it's only because I'm a crotchety old man, is that in one of the stories, they were walking around by themselves at midnight. In fact, there may have been other of these little instances that may have made me not like the book as much. But I'm sure I'm the only one who overthought them.
I love the design and, as I guessed, each book will have its own unique color scheme.
Read
December 8, 2016This was a great new beginner reader, that is so funny I was laughing out loud while reading it. I Love the creativity of this story. I love how her name is Mango and she stumbles upon a new best friend creature called "Bambang" who is "not-a-pig." It's hysterical. I also love the contrast of black and white and purple in the illustrations. It's so fun!
(My Beginner Reader Selection.)
(My Beginner Reader Selection.)
January 9, 2017
Lovely, very special.
November 7, 2017
En väldigt lila bok! Färgglatt och sött. En mysig historia om flickan Mango, hennes ständigt upptagne far(som vi bara får veta jobbar hela tiden) och den härliga tapiren Bambang som Mango hittar en dag på stan när hon är påväg hem. Bambang har virrat bort sig i den stressade storstaden när han flydde från en tiger. Men Mango räddar honom och de får flera härliga äventyr!
Gillade denna mysiga berättelse som tar upp vänskap och ensamhet. Och lite pikar mot den stressade vuxenvärlden..
Kan tänka mig att det är en riktigt rolig bok att läsa tillsammans med barn.
Gillade denna mysiga berättelse som tar upp vänskap och ensamhet. Och lite pikar mot den stressade vuxenvärlden..
Kan tänka mig att det är en riktigt rolig bok att läsa tillsammans med barn.
January 16, 2018
The adorable cover and illustrations... all of the purple mixed in with otherwise black and white drawings... and four charming little stories about a girl and her friend, the tapir.
This would be five stars for me if Bambang didn’t speak, but that took away any kind of possible realistic storyline and I was bummed. (Maybe a girl COULD care for a tapir, but that tapir could not possibly talk.)
I love that Polly Faber is doing for tapirs what Mo Willems has done for pigeons. Incredibly darling.
Now if you’ll excuse me, the idea is banana pancakes is sounding absolutely delicious.
4.5 stars
This would be five stars for me if Bambang didn’t speak, but that took away any kind of possible realistic storyline and I was bummed. (Maybe a girl COULD care for a tapir, but that tapir could not possibly talk.)
I love that Polly Faber is doing for tapirs what Mo Willems has done for pigeons. Incredibly darling.
Now if you’ll excuse me, the idea is banana pancakes is sounding absolutely delicious.
4.5 stars
December 27, 2018
Parádna hlavná hrdinka, úplne mňam. Na prvý pohľad hlavne o priateľstve s tapírom, ale pod povrchom je Lindina osamelosť, pretože žiadna mamka a k tomu stále duchom neprítomný či večne zamestnaný (a asi stále smutný) tata. Pekne a citlivo vykreslené postavy. Kratšie čítanie, no zato plné nápadov. No a Linda k tomu. Skvelé dievča.
December 30, 2019
Som unesena. Konecne dievcenska postava, z ktorej nesrsia stereotypy ako z novorocneho ohnostroja.
December 9, 2021
Very cute early chapter book about the friendship between a brave girl and a not-so-brave tapir.
January 6, 2020
Preschoolers' reviews:
"REALLY good. I liked the brownie part. I did not learn about tapirs because I'm not in school yet."
"I loved this book. It was very exciting. I liked George. I learned about tapirs. I loved the whole book. Bye-bye!"
"REALLY good. I liked the brownie part. I did not learn about tapirs because I'm not in school yet."
"I loved this book. It was very exciting. I liked George. I learned about tapirs. I loved the whole book. Bye-bye!"
March 6, 2017
ревю на български -> http://knigozavar.com/mango-i-bambam/
In "Mango and Bambang" a karate kid saves a refugee tapir!
And this is only the beginning of their crazy adventures! Don't you believe it?
Nor do all those hectic big city adults who are too busy beeping their car horns and who feel too important to understand that Bambang is completely Not-a-Pig.
A neighbor - collector of things from downstairs does not understand the free nature of Bambang and is trying to colect him for her personal exhibition.
And that's just part of the incredible story of "Mango and Bambang".
This book is as much for kids as it is for you, big always hurrying adult!
Because the book may be only 140 pages and written in simple words but carries just as important message as the big thick books everyone claims to have read.
Because if you can not discuss the friendship between Mango and Bambi does not matter if you can talk about it in "Epic of Gilgamesh".
Because while hurrying and anxious in our working life we fail to enjoy the little things.
And Polly Faber and Clara Vulliamy have created a wonderful book for the young readers(5-9yo) - collecting a total of 4 stories for the unusual friends - from their first meeting through mutual knowledge to create the most sincere friendship(based on quite a lot of life-saving).
Read "Mango and Bambang: Not-pig" - for yourself or to your children - and please do not be as fierce as the man ready to hit the "big red button that launches the largest terrible bomb!"
In conclusion: we need more Mango and Bambang in our lives and less passionate bouncing with anger adults.
In "Mango and Bambang" a karate kid saves a refugee tapir!
And this is only the beginning of their crazy adventures! Don't you believe it?
Nor do all those hectic big city adults who are too busy beeping their car horns and who feel too important to understand that Bambang is completely Not-a-Pig.
A neighbor - collector of things from downstairs does not understand the free nature of Bambang and is trying to colect him for her personal exhibition.
And that's just part of the incredible story of "Mango and Bambang".
This book is as much for kids as it is for you, big always hurrying adult!
Because the book may be only 140 pages and written in simple words but carries just as important message as the big thick books everyone claims to have read.
Because if you can not discuss the friendship between Mango and Bambi does not matter if you can talk about it in "Epic of Gilgamesh".
Because while hurrying and anxious in our working life we fail to enjoy the little things.
And Polly Faber and Clara Vulliamy have created a wonderful book for the young readers(5-9yo) - collecting a total of 4 stories for the unusual friends - from their first meeting through mutual knowledge to create the most sincere friendship(based on quite a lot of life-saving).
Read "Mango and Bambang: Not-pig" - for yourself or to your children - and please do not be as fierce as the man ready to hit the "big red button that launches the largest terrible bomb!"
In conclusion: we need more Mango and Bambang in our lives and less passionate bouncing with anger adults.
May 8, 2017
Mango & Bambang The Not-a-Pig is the first book in Polly Faber's Mango & Bambang chapter book series. Mango is a busy girl who lives in a very busy city with busy people. Mango tends to spend most of her time by herself, keeping busy, because her father is always hard at work, until she meets a tapir named Bambang who somehow got lost and wound up in the city. Mango ends up convincing Bambang to join her for banana pancakes and thus the adventures begin. This book is very well written with humor and friendship in mind. The illustrations are in black, white, and purple making this chapter book enjoyable and entertaining. You will want to read the rest of the series to see how these two keep having fun, getting stuck, and help each other out. I would use this book for grades 2nd through 4th.
December 23, 2016
This is the first book in a series about the loveable Mango Allsorts, created by Polly Faber. Mango is a great character and a great choice for seven year olds up. Mango meets and rescues a very frightened tapir lost in the city streets. Together they learn from each other about friendship and courage. A good sized text and gorgeous illustrations on every page make this book perfect in every way. Those readers who are fans of the Ottoline books will love this too. Interesting to see that the illustrator Clara Vullimay is the daughter of the wonderful illustrator Shirley Hughes. Clara however, has her own lovely style.
I will have no trouble recommending this to students at school.
I will have no trouble recommending this to students at school.
October 31, 2015
This if one of my 2015 reading gems.
Bambang is a tapir that has become quite lost and is holding up traffic in the big city that Mango lives. She rescues him and brings him home. Together they explore the city, escape a neighbour who likes collecting and much more.
This was a book of insta-love for me. (Yes that can happen). Wonderful characters with fun and enjoyable storytelling not to forget the beautiful art.
Plus the entire book is stunning; a black and white stripped hard cover with purple edged pages and gorgeous purple dustjacket. It’s a treasure inside and out.
Bambang is a tapir that has become quite lost and is holding up traffic in the big city that Mango lives. She rescues him and brings him home. Together they explore the city, escape a neighbour who likes collecting and much more.
This was a book of insta-love for me. (Yes that can happen). Wonderful characters with fun and enjoyable storytelling not to forget the beautiful art.
Plus the entire book is stunning; a black and white stripped hard cover with purple edged pages and gorgeous purple dustjacket. It’s a treasure inside and out.
September 24, 2017
Probably intended for 6+ years, this book is delightful and charming for everyone. Mango Allsorts is good at all sorts of things, including helping unhappy animals, so when she finds Bambang the tapir in need of rescue, she has to step in. Mango and Bambang become a very lovely duo: they challenge and accept each other, and have a lot of fun. The illustrations are beautiful too and really make the story come to life. This book provided a lot of comfort and solace for me and my wife (both aged 28) and I highly recommend it to everyone!
December 11, 2016
So, in the first story, we get to know our characters' primary traits. The next two are adventures, the last is a sweet summary of their r'ship to one another and a promise of more adventures to come and new friends to make. The title characters are interesting, the setting and other characters are bad stereotypes. Pretty average fare for a debut, but promising. I'll read the sequels if I can find them easily.
March 25, 2017
4 stars for the stories and writing but 3 stars because I didn't feel the need to zip through the pages. This is a sweet collection of 4 short stories about a charming girl named Mango who befriends an easily frightened but very loyal tapir named Bambang. The illustrations are lovely and the writing is well done. I'd give this book to a reader who's transitioning out of easy readers but not quite ready for middle grade fiction. 3rd or 4th grade probaby.
August 26, 2016
I adored Mango and Bambang, but it may be too British and too twee for some children. The narrative voice is playful, but in a rather proper way. The illustrations are adorable, in tones of black and violet. A sweet, funny story reminiscent of Winnie-the-Pooh or Paddington Bear, but with no bears. Also, no pigs.
March 5, 2017
This book was a pleasant surprise. My daughter wanted it because it was purple, haha. Mango and Bambang are very sweet characters. It wasn't a very strong plot but the characters are endearing and the writing was cleaver. My kids loved it (ages 3 and 6) and were engaged for the entire book. It reminded me a little of Paddington Bear or even Winnie the Pooh. We will definitely be reading more.
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