Through the Magic Mirror
By Anthony Browne
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is a British writer and illustrator of children’s books. He received the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2000.
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First published by Julia MacRae Books 1976.
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Usually marked as suitable for 4-7 y.o.
This book is a bit different. Even if children are not aware Through the Magic Mirror is Anthony Browne’s first book, they can sense it misses some of the familiar features of his art. We can’t find any characters we already know or hidden messages that he so loves leaving for us.
I usually begin working with a book discussing the cover and endpapers but this time I think it is better not to. That is because both suggest that something unusual is going to happen. I want to start my lesson with talking about boring stuff. We all get bored and fed up, we all know how to deal with it. So we share opinions first and my students tell me all about their routine.
It’s a slow night. The boy goes to the living-room and sees his boring parents. Mum is reading the newspaper. Dad is asleep in front of TV. Even the dog is asleep. Mum and dad are being so lazy that they can’t be asked even cleaning after themselves. Everyone is fed up.
So Toby heads upstairs into his bedroom and sees the mirror. Everything in the picture at first looks normal but then we realise that he is looking at his back, not his front. What’s wrong with the mirror?
And then the boy steps through it. Where will it take him? Is he dreaming or is it a portal into another dimension? Some children mentioned Narnia and the magic wardrobe. Others remember reading the book Another by Christian Robinson where a little girl follows her cat into a different dimension.
Toby goes through the mirror and finds himself in a very bizarre street.
Let’s find all things wrong. It’s very colourful and grand. The streets look unusually empty. The sun seems to be an orange. There’s a tree on the roof of one of the buildings. Through one of the windows we can see the sky. There’s a lonely flower growing in the middle of the road through the tarmac. We can see someone’s shadow but can’t see who it belongs to. It’s odd that the only door in this picture is so high up, it’s impossible to go through it. Some kids think the rainbow goes through the building is there for a reason - it’s the stairs. Some kids can notice or we can tell them the shadows are a bit wrong. They usually fall into one direction but in this picture they are very random. Who do the hat and the umbrella belong to? Is there a man behind the wall? What is the grey thing below the window with fish splashing in it? How many fish can you see?
Then we meet an invisible man and spot a painting of a painting of a painting. We are confused as it is but then we meet a dog walking a man. We walk on and see two men painting a fence. When we take another look we can see they are changing the sky. Apparently, this is them who paint the sky light blue in the morning and add up a few clouds here and there. If you could paint that good, what would you paint on the sky? A Unicorn? Dragons? Birds flying upside down?
Anthony Browne chooses to paint a flock of choirboys flying overhead. Where are flying to? Are they flying up or down?
Everything is wrong in this book. Cats get chased by a gang of hungry mice, trains don’t need rails, boats roll ashore, animals jump off posters, clocks look like they were flipped twice..
So many things are wrong in this book. But my class really want to know why the boy is wearing heels like a girl. The question makes sense and I show them some pictures of 1970s fashion.
After we finish reading, we talk about other things like the mirror that can take us to some unusual places or dimensions.
