Friends

Mullewapp [Mollywoop] #1

by Helme Heine

São três amigos inseparáveis: o rato Frederico, o galo Juvenal e o gordo Valdemar. Todo dia dão seu passeio matinal à procura de uma aventura legal. Tradução de Luciano Vieira Machado. Considerado altamente recomendável para a criança, na categoria tradução, pela Fundação Nacional do Livro Infantil e Juvenil.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Animals, Fiction, Humor, German Literature

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

Helme Heine was a best-selling German writer, children's book author, illustrator and designer. He lived in New Zealand, writing screenplays, audiobook scripts and creating satirical drawings and sculptures.

Reviews

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are some books that you just know the moment you open it you are going to enjoy what it has to offer.

With this book, it is delightfully illustrated by the author herself with fresh exuberant watercolor paintings and word play that takes us places that tell us that this is a reading experience to appreciate.

Because…

This is a celebration of friendship.

Premise: 3 very unlikely friends who live on a farm; a rooster, a mouse and a pig love to adventure together during the day. At night as much as they would love to sleep together, it isn’t possible – but they know, because they are friends, when they wake up, they will always have each other to return to for another carefree experience.

What can this story teach us? It doesn’t matter who we are, we need not judge, because true friends come in all sizes, shapes and colors. They will love and play with us and imagine with us…because that is what good friends do.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johnny Mauser, Franz von Hahn und der dicke Waldemar (ein Schwein) geben anhand einer biographischen Erzählung wichtige Einsichten in die Tiefen des Seins von Freundschaft. Z.B.: „Als Johnny Mauser ein altes Boot im Schilf entdeckte beschlossen alle drei, Seeräuber zu werden, denn richtige Freunde beschließen immer alles zusammen.“
Emotional hat mich besonders die Thematisierung der Opferbereitschaft auf hoher See abgeholt: „Johnny Mauser stand am Ruder, Franz von Hahn stellte das Segel, und der dicke Waldemar war der Stöpsel: Er verstopfte das Loch in den Schiffsplanken.“
Rundum starkes Lese- und Guckerlebnis. Would recommend

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't care WHO you are....I don't care how OLD you are....if you can't read this and love it....you're too old for me!

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sister told me about this book. She said they read it in the preschool she does Speech Pathology. She got to giggling about the three friends riding the bike. The Mouse on one pedal, the pig on the other pedal and the rooster steering.

Cute book cute pictures...I had to watch/read this on Youtube but we are going to be ordering it soon because I think this a fun and important story!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well alrighty then. Great theme, but I think it would have been more effective and interesting if they did one thing together, and then did something that showed them as individuals, back and forth throughout, so to speak. In the book they do *everything* except sleep together, and that's just not realistic, imo.

[Kerstin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This wonderful picture book is a family favorite. The water-color illustrations are delightful and full of humor. They invite any kid (at heart) to step into the pages and join the adventure.

[Jasmin (notashotasmyteapot) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will try to jot down my thoughts in spanish so bear with me :D There may be mistakes in this. I don't have anyone to proof read.

Revista española:

Me encanta el cuento. Creo que es un libro muy interesante, de rico colorido y alegre. El cuento se trata de la aventura y la amistad. Me siento orgulloso porque entiendo muchas cosas y palabras. Lo que no sabía, lo busqué. Por allí aprendí muchas palabras nuevas.

Las ilustraciones son muy bonitas. Me ayudaron a entender mejor el cuento. El libro es muy adecuado para alguien que está aprendiendo español.

[Cece · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three animal friends that do everything together. They can't find a place for all three to sleep and they realize they can't always be together.

[Vincent DiGirolamo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best!

[McKenna Russell]

This book is about a group of friends that do everything together. Throughout the day, they ride their bikes, they play hide and seek, they discover new things, they play pirates, they eat cherries, and they go home all together. There is nothing during the day that they do not do together other than sleeping. There are three characters in this story, the three best friends. They are Charlie Rooster, Johnny Mouse, and Fat Percy. All of them are very different animals that get along very well. They work together well and help each other in different ways. For example, while they were playing pirates, Johnny Mouse took the tiller, Charlie Rooster opened his wings to make the sail, and fat Percy plugged up the hole in the side of the boat by sitting on it. Each character had a role in the book and a role as one of the friends. The text structure of this book varied a little bit each page. The first three pages had the text written underneath the images of the page while the next one had the text above the images. This was a good change up throughout the book because it allowed your eyes to see the images while still looking for the words and finding them to continue reading along. The characterization of this book was also very well done. Each character had its own role and lived up it well considering they were each an animal which made it kind of easy to recognize their differences. They also each had a different role in the friend group with what they could help with and what they might not have been able to help with because of their size or something. The names of the characters also defined them really well. Finally, the illustrations were very well done and caught my eye for sure. They were very detailed and colorful and provided a good explanation of the story through imagery. The illustrations look like they might have been done by water colors or painting of some kind because of the brush strokes throughout the book. I really like the message of this book. It talked a lot about the importance of friends and what they do together. Throughout the book there are lines like “good friends always stick together” or “good friends always decide things together.” I think those are some good messages for children especially at a young age when they do not really know what it means to be a friend yet. Another part I liked was at the end when they are trying to figure out where they are going to sleep all together and nowhere is really working so they decide that it is okay to sleep at their separate places and said “sometimes good friends can’t be together.” I feel like that can also give a better understanding of friends to children as they are reading this. I think I could use this in my classroom to help teach my students about the power of friendship and why it is important to be a good friend. This might not be a specific lesson to a specific subject, but it could be something that is added to the end or beginning of the day as a fun little activity. I think this is a book that children would really like because it includes different animals being friends, which is not what you see often. If I were to use this in my classroom I would ask my students before reading it what it means to them to be a friend. I would allow for a little bit of discussion time and then I would read the book and after it I would maybe ask the same question or ask if they have anything else to add from what they said before. This would just be a fun activity added to a long day of learning that can allow students to feel the warmth and positivity that comes with friendships and see the different aspects that might go into it.

[Morgan Carlson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friends is a story about three good friends, Charlie Rooster, Johnny Mouse, and fat Percy, who live on a farm together. They wake up and go on adventures all day and settle down to eat together. Even though they want to do everything together, they can't figure out a way to sleep together. They all decided that even though they wanted to, they couldn't sleep together, so they all dreamt of each other.

One element of fantasy that it seen in this book is that they are all talking animals. This also means that the characters are fantastic characters in a real world, which is another fantasy element. The character's journey they go on is all the things that happen throughout their day (bike riding, sailing on a boat, picking cherries). The fantasy theme in this book is both friendship and unconditional love. All three of them have an unbreakable bond that is sealed with their love for each other and love for adventures.

They artwork done in the illustrations looks like they have been done using watercolor, giving the illustrations a glowing look. The color palette is full of reds, oranges, and yellows which gives the story a warm, happy feel to their home at the farm. The look of the illustrations puts off an impressionistic vibe which gives the book a dreamlike effect and evokes a quiet mood.

[A YOGAM · Rating 5 out of 5]

Freunde von Helme Heine (1941 - 2025): Die anarchische Formel der Freundschaft
Dieses Buch liefert die ultimative, wenn auch leicht anarchische, soziologische Feldstudie zur Essenz der Freundschaft, verkörpert durch das unschlagbare Trio Franz von Hahn (der aufgeregte Aristokrat), Johnny Mauser (der lässige Außenseiter) und der dicke Waldemar (der gemütliche, heimlich philosophische Anker). Die drei sind der beste Beweis dafür, dass die Vielfalt der Eigenschaften die einzig tragfähige Basis für das Zusammenleben ist, weshalb sich ihre Namen sofort und unwiderruflich ins Gedächtnis des Lesers eingraben.
Der größte Witz liegt jedoch in der kindlichen Existenzialkrise der Beziehungslogik, die Kinder so oft durchleben: Sätze wie "Du bist mein Freund und du bist nicht mehr mein Freund" sind keine bloßen Aussagen, sondern miniaturisierte Weltanschauungen, deren vielfältige Bedeutung immer wieder wiederholt werden muss. Sie dienen als ritueller Sprechakt, der den Reifungsprozess im Umgang mit Freundschaft konsolidiert, und zeigen, dass die Definition von Nähe oft nur einen Wutausbruch entfernt liegt – ein Konzept, über das sich vor allem der dicke Waldemar, als ruhender Pol des Absurden, mit stoischer Gelassenheit amüsieren dürfte.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

1.Five to eight year old's.
2. "Friends" is a charming book that recounts the day of a rooster, mouse and pig. They work together to use an old boat and sail to a great cherry tree where they all share the cherries. Then, they bicycle around. When nighttime comes they decide its best to sleep in their own beds, however, true friends always dream of each other. The dynamic between the friends is heartwarming.
3. "Friends" by Helme Heine is a delightful little book that illustrates the true meaning of friendship through detailed illustrations laced with bright colors and movement, as well as a great story line. The moral of the story is that true friends always tick together and care about each other, an idea that is mention quite often.
4. I think this book is great for early school students. It illustrates the rue meaning of friendship and what it means to share. This book can be used for pure enjoyment or to teach important lessons on friendship.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charlie Rooster, Johnny Mouse, and Percy the pig are best friends and they do everything together. They stick together, decide things together, share, and try to be fair. The end of the day comes and they want to sleep together, but it just won't work. They then conclude that good friends sometimes can't be together, and that's ok.

This is a good book for kids who find it hard to separate from their friends at the end of the day.

[Haley Muench · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good book, it just isn’t a book I would choose for myself. It represents how others can be treated with fairness and respect. In the book it has three friend that do everything together, until they can’t. But they all understand each other and have a good understanding that they are all still friends even if they are not always together. Which I think is a really good representation for the classroom because the students will have to leave each other at the end of the school day.

[Makayla Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tale is about a group of three extremely distinct farm animals and their friendship. Friends Charlie Rooster, Johnny Mouse, and fat Percy like spending time together and enjoy doing everything, including riding their bicycles in the morning. I thought this book was so cute bringing these animals to life by giving them voices like humans. This would be a super good book to educate young children (early elementary students) on the benefits of friendship with those who are different than you.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johnny Mouse, Charlie Rooster and fat Percy are the best of friends. Once Charlie has done his morning wake-up call, the three friends set out on their bicycle for a day’s outing. Then, they find a boat and take off on the pond. But at the day’s end, they find they must go their separate ways.

Cute illustrations.

[Rosemary Markham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cute story about some animal friends and their adventures during the day. At night they want to sleep together but find that is not possible so they each go back to their own homes, but plan to meet again next morning. One thing I like about children's books is they have a simple moral and resolve the conflict quickly. But they can just as powerful as a 600 page novel.

[Abby Hays · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was a super cute book about different kinds of animals who all come together to be friends. It shows that anyone can be friends and that being different is okay. I feel like it is a good message to show kids the importance of friendship. I also love the illustrations of all of the animals and I think kids would love looking at all the funny, human-like things that they do.

[skcocnaH · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is anyone else bothered by the fact that the mouse and the rooster both have names followed by the type of animal they are, but the pig is just “fat Percy?” Also, the fact that the pig broke the Hen shelf, stopped up the hole by sitting his fat butt on it, and apparently ate twice the amount of cheeries (not because pigs are bigger than hens and mice, but because he’s a pig?).

[Aida Schwartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I ever recall reading as a young child. What's impressive to me is that I still recall where I was exactly when I first took the book in my hands. I recall the furniture around me, the light from the window shining in the book pages as if my magical voyage to the land of reading was just about to start!

[Luis Fe Domínguez · Rating 2 out of 5]

El libro tiene unas ilustraciones hermosas ideales para leerlo con niños y admirar la hermosa ambientación del libro, pero la historia carece de mucho sentido, es vacía y pierde la narrativa. Pudo explotarse más la idea.

[Matt Henry]

This is a book for beginning readers. This also is a great book for a read aloud because of the fun illustrated pictures and the lessons of friendship and what it truly means to be a good friend. This gives us examples of what good friends look like.

[Vickie McEntire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about friendship and lovely illustrations. I didn't care for the use of the word "fat" in front of Percy as a descriptor throughout the book. Other two characters are called Johnny Mouse and Charlie Rooster. Could have just called him Percy Pig.

[Drew Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Friends" by Helme Heine is a heartwarming and beautifully illustrated story that celebrates the joys of friendship and the importance of kindness and inclusion. The message of the story is simple but can resonate with children to cherish their friendships.

[Lee Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun with beautiful artwork. 3/5 stars.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to work a little harder with this one to keep the kids I read it to engaged. But it's a fun, sweet story.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures definitely make the book! We giggled and smiled and totally enjoyed reading this book as a class.

[Katie Winkler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming little book about friendship, beautifully illustrated.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars. Fun illustrations, but no plot. Kind of boring.