All of a Sudden

Mole and Maurice are inseparable. Until one day, all of a sudden, Maurice says, ‘Bye, Mole!’ – and disappears without explanation. Mole doesn’t know if his friend is ever going to come back and finds comfort in the things Maurice has left behind: a scarf, a violin, an umbrella. He collects them and uses them to build a castle. But even with all those things around him, Mole still feels lonely. Will he and Maurice ever play together again until they’re dozy and drowsy?

With a minimum of words, Françoise Beck tells a universal story about having friends and missing them. The colourful pencil illustrations give the book a distinctive energy. The playful compositions of Maurice’s belongings, gathered together by Mole, invite the reader to look closely, discover new details and return to the book again and again. The cheerful lettering gives the reader a sense that everything will turn out well in the end, as it does when Maurice comes home and immediately sees Mole’s collection as a castle to play in. ‘All of a Sudden’ is a warm and affectionate picture book that shows how true friendship endures, even when someone goes away (if only for a while).