The Pointless Leopard: What Good Are Kids Anyway?

by Colas Gutman, Stephanie Seegmuller (Translator), Delphine Perret (Illustrator)

Overview

A walk in the woods turns into a funny, philosophical and irresistibly charming mini-adventure.

In this witty tale of insistent parents and talking animals, a child questions his purpose.

In the country, there's nothing to do, except: admire. It's the same as being bored, but with your eyes wide open.

The hilarious story of grumpy city-child Leonard, forced to go for country walks with his greenery-loving mum and dad, is a wonderful reminder of what use we may be to the world. What do we know? What can we do? And is any of it of real value?

The Pointless Leopard is a charming tale for all, about the parts we play in the lives of others.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782690405
Publisher:	Steerforth Press
Publication date:	08/12/2014
Edition description:	Translatio
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Colas Gutman’s parents were writers, and for a long time he was convinced that it was the worst profession in the world... Until one day the joy of writing grabbed him. And it hasn't let him go since. He is still a big kid, and writes his books in exactly the same way he used to do his homework when he was younger - lying on his bed, using a comic book as his desk.

Read an Excerpt

The Pointless Leopard

What Good are Kids Anyway?

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By Colas Gutman, Delphine Perret, Stephanie Seegmuller

Steerforth Press

Copyright © 2011 L'école des loisirs, Paris
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-78269-040-5

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CHAPTER 1

"I don't like it in the country, it's ugly, it's green and it's boring!"

"Leonard, you can't say that! It's wonderful in the country!" said Mum.

"That's right, all children love it in the country," said Dad.

"Well, not me."

At the weekend, what my parents like to do above all is drink tea in front of an open fire, listening to the silence. They call this country life. It's horrible.

Me, what I like to do is walk on the pavement, jump on benches, go to the cinema, and run after the pigeons. In the country there's nothing to do, except: admire. It's the same as being bored, but with your eyes wide open.

So I'm allowed to get bored in front of the open fire, the ducks, the hens, the trees and sometimes the tractors, which go by in slow motion.

When Dad and Mum aren't drinking tea around the fire like cavemen, they take me for a walk. Most of the time it's raining, it makes your feet hurt and it makes you thirsty. It's worse than anything.

But last weekend, something finally happened.

"Look how beautiful it is!" said Mum.

"It's not beautiful, it's green," I said.

"That's because of all the rain," said Dad.

"Yes, it rains all the time," I said.

"What about taking this track?" said Mum.

A track is a street without shops, and with grass in the middle, stones that make you twist your ankles, and stinging nettles at the sides.

My parents love walking along tracks they don't know. They say they're magical places.

Mum said:

"I'm sure there are hens on this track."

"Seeing all these animals running free – it's really heart-warming," said Dad.

Me, I thought of the tigers, the bears and the monkeys that are printed on my duvet, and I stepped into a big puddle.

While Dad was counting the leaves of a tree and Mum was wondering whether it was the season for chestnuts, I ran into a sheep.

Because I'm polite, I said hello. And because this sheep talked, it replied:

"Hi."

And he added:

"Excuse me, but what are you?"

"What do you mean, what am I?" I said.

"Well, what kind of animal are you?"

I thought, "Wow, I'm really out in the middle of nowhere like Mum said. Poor sheep, he's never seen a kid in his life!"

"I'm not an animal," I said, "I'm Leonard."

"Is it like a leopard?" asked the sheep.

"Nope, it's my name. What about you? What are you called?"

"Sheep."

"I see."

That's when the sheep had a sniff at me and asked a funny question:

"And what are you for?"

So I thought of a bunch of things:

a bottle-opener
a sewing machine
a blender
a football
a pillow

I turned to the sheep and I said:

"I don't think I'm for anything."

The sheep started laughing so hard that a cow came along.

"What's that?" asked the cow.

"It's a sort of pointless leopard," said the sheep.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from The Pointless Leopard by Colas Gutman, Delphine Perret, Stephanie Seegmuller. Copyright © 2011 L'école des loisirs, Paris. Excerpted by permission of Steerforth Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

"Overflowing with love and humor." — Le Monde des Livres

"Joyful."— Notes bibliographiques

"[Delphine Perret's illustrations are] by turns hilarious and moving." — Parol

"The hilarity of juxtaposing the issue of the purpose of one’s existence with discussing philosophy with country animals carries us through what actually could have been a pretty dark tale! . . . [an] entertaining journey of self-discovery." — The Book Wars

From the Publisher