THE MUSHROOMS (1959)
THE MUSHROOMS (1959)
Illustrations by Erik Blegvad
SOURCE: The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall (1959)
DESCRIPTION: "The figure stole outside the tunnel and blinked into the sunlight. He motioned, and two others joined him, and then two more. Mingy stared at them, ...They were taller than Minnipins by at least a head, and they wore tight brownish-white clothes that fitted like skin, so that their round bellies bulged fat as puff toads. Their heads were hairless, and mushroom-colored like their suits, as though they lived their days in dank caves, and they had ears twice the size of Mingy's own. Each of them bore a long stick with wicked metal point--what Walter the Earl had described as a spear..." (The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall)
NOTES: The Mushrooms are a savage race of cave-dwellers (not actual mushroom creatures) who want nothing more than to kill all the peace-loving Minnipins. An earthquake blocked the one entrance into the Minnipins' valley but the Mushroom have been slowly digging their way through. The spears of the Mushrooms are dipped in a pot of evil poison. An antidote also exists. The Mushrooms would have slain all the Minnipins except a group of outsiders happened to notice their coming and were armed with legendary weapons, swords that blaze brightly when around Mushrooms. With these swords the Mushrooms were routed.
HISTORY: Kendall's fantasy for children is a fun book with only a slight trace of sacchrine (mostly in the poetry). The mushrooms help to give the book some much needed menace. The inspiration from Tolkien is evident in the Hobbit-like Minnipins and goblin-like Mushrooms. The glowing sword of Bilbo's the source of the Minnipin weapons.
