Momo

Michael Ende (author)

Puffin, UK: 1984; 236pp

ISBN: 9780140317534

Genres: fantasy

Issues: communication, environment, friendship

advanced concepts

Momo is that rare thing amongst humankind - someone who listens. Homeless, she is befriended by any number of people in her community, all of whom come to tell her their stories and problems. Then the Grey Gentlemen arrive, with their endless push to save time and money, urging her friends to work harder, play less.

It is Momo who, by listening, manages to find out what is really going on and why these odd people are always smoking their grey cigars. It is Momo, too, with her complete

honesty and total disinterest in accumulating wealth of any kind, who is immune to their spell and the only one who can save her friends. So she goes in search of the mysterious Professor Hora and his unusual turtle, Cassiopeia.

This is a well-written novel, sufficiently absorbing and thought-provoking to be enjoyed by adults as well as sensitive children.

Same Author: The Neverending Story; The Night of Wishes