'The Mennyms' by Sylvia Waugh

A year ago I went to a Book Day party where you were meant to come dressed as your favourite children's book character. I thought about it for a bit, decided that I would probably plunk for Eeyore as my favourite character, but went as Pippi Longstocking because it was easier to come up with a costume.

Last week in a lazy moment I picked The Mennyms off the bookshelf at home, sat down to read and Eeyore was suddenly dethroned by sixteen-year-old Soobie Mennym.

The book is not new to me - it's one of those ones that has been around the house since I was smallish and I have probably totted up quite a few reads of it over the years. (I'm an avid re-reader; why read a book you don't know when there's one to hand that you love?) Soobie, however, is a new favourite. He's not the character most likely to appeal to a ten-year-old girl but a 'grown-up' re-reading reveals that he's a fascinating character and, from the subtlety with which he is painted, I would guess he's one of the author's favourites as well.

Soobie and Eeyore actually have quite a lot in common. To begin with, they're both stuffed toys; Eeyore is a grey donkey, Soobie a life-sized ragdoll. Along with his family, he was brought to life by the mysterious intervention of their deceased creator Aunt Kate's spirit and has lived on unchanged for forty years in a suburban house, avoiding the eye of curious human neighbours. Eeyore and Soobie are both misfits and prone to gloominess; Eeyore always feeling left out by the more outgoing residents of Christopher Robin's menagerie, Soobie a misfit not only in the human world but also within his own family, the only one to be made of blue rather than flesh-coloured cloth. Eeyore's stubborn pessimism in light of whatever good thing life throws at him invariably reminds me of my grandad, making him an even more lovable character than he already is in his own right.

Soobie, however, has a depth of character that you wouldn't find in the Hundred Acre Wood. He's a bit of a philosopher, 'wise beyond his years' according to Granpa Magnus. The rest of his family try to fit into the human world through a series of elaborate 'pretends' (from sipping out of empty cups, to inventing a complete outside life for occasional visitor Miss Quigley who actually lives in the hall cupboard), and indulge in the few 'reals' in their lives (Vinetta's ironing or Granny Tulip's accounts). Meanwhile, pretence-shy Soobie grapples with his own condition as a blue ragdoll in a human world. When the 'pretend' of his 15-year-old sister gets out of hand, causing hurt to the whole family, Soobie is the one who understands:

"She should behave in a mature way," said Vinetta sharply, appreciating all too well the undertones.
"Don't you see?" said Soobie more gently. "That is the trouble, Mother. She can't. We are all caught in our own warp of time. She can never be other than adolescent. [...] In my own way I am no more mature than Appleby. I haven't reached contentment with my lot. And I never will."

Because the Mennyms are rag dolls, they never grow older. This 'warp of time' has an interesting impact on the novel's character progression. Although Appleby's actions cause serious pain to her family, the phase of adolescence she lives in means that she never fully takes responsibility nor does she seek to apologise. Soobie, by contrast, is quick to recognise his own limitations. "I suppose I'm no better than the rest of them, thought Soobie with his usual honesty, I sulk too much."

Soobie has inherited introversion comes from his father Joshua but he has a quiet practicality of his own. When Miss Quigley is told some difficult news, she falls unconscious.

"She's fainted," said Soobie from his seat by the window. "That's not a pretend." He did not stir from his seat or offer to help, but, having told his parents a simple fact that they might have missed, he went back to reading his magazine.

Living outside his family's framework of pretends, Soobie sticks to his own principles with careful discipline. An avid reader, he comes across a pile of books in the middle of another job.

He resisted the temptation even to read titles. Later, later. Soobie made his own rules and kept them to the letter.

Despite his unwillingness to get involved in family life, he shows deep sensitivity to his family's needs, carefully protecting over-anxious Vinetta from unneccessary worry. This blend of wisdom, care and discipline gives Soobie impressive potential as a character. Forty years of pretending have not equipped the family for reality, and when crisis hits, it is not pearl-of-wisdom Granpa Magnus, self-giving Vinetta or even practical Granny Tulip who steps up, but moody teenager Soobie Mennym. This is the start of a process of self-acceptance that will continue through later books (yes, there are sequels! Happy days!), and after forty years of waiting, a precious opportunity for real character progression.

I've gotten a bit carried away talking about Soobie here, but I massively recommend the novel as a whole. The literary bit of me would like to point out that Soobie is only one of a rich cast of characters in a high-quality piece of children's fiction with a tightly woven plot and sensitive treatment of a wide range of issues around identity, emotional security and what it means to be a family.

The rest of me is more straighforward: this book is fun, it makes me happy, and you should read it too.