Momo

I bought this book as it was referred to in another adult non-fiction work on consumerism. The story Momo has food for thought about consumerism and our obsession with "saving-time". It is an easy read, gentle with a slight menace in places. Young children may enjoy it being read to them, the chapters are generally a good length for breaking the story into episodes. Older children will find the language manageable to read for themselves. Talking about the story afterwards could be interesting and raise discussion about how parents and children use their time, what children really enjoy doing, how play can be satisfying for adults and children. Just reading the book for pleasure is good too!

OK I love the illustrator but perhaps a different style might have suited the story better. This is one of those books I buy again and again to give to people. As it was so eloquently put in the song 'Feeling goovey'; 'slow down, you move to fast, you've got to make the moment last.' Life is for living and don't let the grey suited men steal you time as they rush us all to the end of the world. A book that gives a different perspective on life in an eloquently told story, perhaps it will even make people question the world around us, and learn to give a little more.

This seems on surface to be a child's fable. It works as a child's fable but communicates profound wisdom as to the nature of time, of a receptivity of being, of identifying and transcending that which wastes time. For time can waste as well as be wasted. The scientific era is largely anti mythic - indeed uses the term myth as if it meant false! - but the story can hold and communicate information of far subtler aspect than linear conceptual definitions, and Michael Ende' willingness to let story serve a reintegration of consciousness extends and invitation to escape from the trap of a disconnected surface mentality rather than to dislocate in escapism.

One of my favourite and more thoughtful books of all time, Momo challenges our attitude to time itself. On the surface, a children's book, Ende's classic is a must-read for all who think they simply don't have enough time. Truth is, time is perhaps the only fair resource. We all have 168 hours a week, but Ende's story suggests that others are jealous of this wealth we all share. Neil Gaiman was asked to share three books that changed his life. This wasn't one of them, but it would be one of mine. I'm not as well-known or as influential as Neil Gaiman, but in my opinion you would be doing yourself a great favour to read this treasure.

This is a lovely fable. Momo is a vagrant girl who settles in a ruined amphitheatre on the edge of a city. There her almost supernatural skill as a good-natured listener and hedge-therapist endears her to the locals, children and adults both. But then the men in grey move into the city, slyly persuading people to save time at all costs, time which the grey men themselves use to sustain their soulless lives. As the grown-ups rush around, their lives and those of their children become increasingly stressful and unhappy. Eventually it falls to Momo alone to confront the men in grey, though she is aided by Professor Hora, the keeper of time, and his prophetic tortoise Cassiopeia. Warm and gripping throughout, the book has occasional passages of surpassing beauty, such as the imaginary seafaring adventure the children enjoy early on, and Momo's visit to the place where time comes from. Momo has to cope with the disappearance of all her friends and find a way past her loneliness to save them. The great climax glues one to the page: walking home with my nose buried in the book I went straight past my own house! - an outcome that would have pleased Momo immensely.

A wonderful book which expresses all that we suspect about time and material possessions and the little value we give the former (the most precious possesion of all) and the great importance we attach to the latter - why? This book should be compulsory reading. I wish it was enough to set the world to rights and change it forever! I'm not a lover of children's books but this was exceptional. Beautifully written, there is something there for all ages. Read it and pass it on to your friends! That's as long as the time thieves haven't got to them already....

Book arrived on time as described.

Beautiful story for children and adults. One of the best I have ever read.

Great little book. If everybody read this book we would live in a better world.

Book is ok but there are people read this book on youtube.

I absolutely love this book. This is a multi generational story. My 3rd grade teacher read this to our class. I don't think there is a kid that had her class over the years that doesn't remember this book but by a different name The Grey Gentleman. This is a easier reading version of that book but the story is the same. I bought this so I could read to my kids and was so surprised that the innocent child in me remembered the story one way, however reading it as an adult has a whole different meaning. It makes you think. In my opinion this should be required reading in school. It's right up there with The Giver or even the The Giving Tree. A book with a message. You won't be disappointed. This was originally written in German by the same author as The Never Ending Story. It's been translated into Spanish. But trying to to find an English version hasn't been an easy find, so I was elated when my sister found it here and bought it to read to her son. Then I bought it to read to my children.

Momo is a great story and has been a family favorite even though it is virtually impossible to buy in the USA (so I get it in Europe). The story is about a young girl, which is great, as heroines can be hard to find. Ende's fantasies are beautiful. It is a simpler and shorter book than his more famous The Neverending Story, and more manageable for younger readers. Enjoy!

Every child should read this book. Perspective on life will be changed for the better.