-Brian Mendonça
The works of Geronimo Stilton are a new entrant in
our home. Not so new really. It was in November last that Dwayne urged me to
pick up two books by the author at Crosswords, Bandra. Amid the sea of shelves devoted
to Geronimo I wondered why s/he could captivate the minds of the 7-8 year-olds
to such a degree.
Geronimo grew on Dwayne and the chapter was
revisited six months on, when he picked up a Geronimo book from the State
Central Library, Patto, Panjim during the vacation. He devoured it in no time
and asked for more.
My curiosity was piqued further. So I pressed into
service three of my own library cards in addition to one that he was allowed to
use on his membership. I came home with four Geronimos. I was determined to get
to the bottom of this! Maybe I could get some tips for my writing as well.
Queenie was quite amused to see dada and baba
reading the same book. Most importantly it kept Dwayne fruitfully occupied (and
silent) when he was at a loose end. ‘Vacations can be a bore without a bag of
books,’ is Ruskin Bond’s advice to children.
I discovered, for starters, that Geronimo is a worthy
mouse. He is editor of The Rodent’s
Gazette. Stilton is the name of an English cheese. Elisabetta Dami is the
one who comes up with the ideas for the story line. The original title (and the
title of this piece) was in Italian. It was Ma
che vacanza . . . a Rocca Taccagna!
There are several titles in the Geronimo series.
This was title number 57 in the series. The title was first published by
Scholastic in New York in 2012. It was
translated into English in 2014 and reprinted by Scholastic India in New Delhi
the same year.
The
Stinky Cheese Vacation is about Geronimo who is
emotionally blackmailed by his uncle Samuel Stingysnout to spruce up his Penny
Pincher Castle on the pretext that he is on his deathbed. Geronimo realises he
is being manipulated but, ‘How could I say NO?’ he reasons.
Geronimo and his friends are then given the task
of deciphering a cryptic scroll leading to a treasure. They do (stinky cheese!)
and finally Stingysnout amends his ways. He even invites them all to chill during
the summer vacation at pool and castle in its new avatar – Hotel Stingysnout.
The book closes with the line, ‘In the end, it is true that when you are kind
and generous to others, that spirit of generosity is returned to you when you
least expect it!’
The
Stinky Cheese Vacation set in New Mouse City, is
actually a spoof on New York city. It is complete with colourful maps
proclaiming its provenance. New Mouse city resides amidst the waters of the
Ratlantic Ocean to the East and San Mouscisco bay on the West. There is even
the Statue of Liberty
with a mouse holding a torch.
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www.geronimostilton.com Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, St. Inez, Panjim, Goa on Sunday, 2 June 2019.
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