Book Review: Joachim Quelque Chose

Title: Joachim Quelque Chose

(This is quite a rare book. Amazon lists it but shows no price, picture, or record of having ever sold it. In order to show you the picture I'm going to have to use a link to E-Bay which may, of course, be broken by the time this review goes live.)

Price shown in euros, approximately US$28, on E-Bay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Livre-pour-enfant-vintage-Francois-Regis-Bastide-JOACHIM-QUELQUE-CHOSE-1959-/262632529558

Author: Francois Regis Bastide

Date: 1959

Publisher: Hatier

ISBN: none

Length: pages not numbered; I count 68

Illustrations: original artwork by Monica Bastide, some color, some black and white

Quote: “Voici un drole de petit garcon, habille comme un coureur cycliste, coiffe d'un grand chapeau rouge de napoleon-arlequin, tout embobine dans les quatre-vingt six ficelles d'un parachute.”

I might have known this book had collector value. It's not an especially great book; it's a whimsical picture book that was published because it happened to be written by an influential French diplomat of his day. It was not published in large quantities, did not become a bestseller, and has all but vanished. 

Joachim is a humanoid space alien who left his home on the Moon because it was boring. He finds a job on Earth (in a circus) on condition that he can produce some documentation that he's a Moon Prince. He decides he wants a Moon Princess, as well, although his people are apparently asexual and Joachim has to explain to them what girls are...

This picture book may be too silly for children, who want to know either what the world really is like or what it would be like if people were nicer. For adults it's a cute, wacky fantasy. You don't even have to read the story (in French) to appreciate the goofball charm of the pictures.

This story looks as if it were made up to go with a marionette show, and is recommended to anyone who enjoys making marionettes or other dolls or puppets. Several of the characters are classic puppet-show types that could dance through dozens of sequels.

Since Bastide's first book has become so obscure, here's an Amazon image of a more substantial book that bears his name, a re-edition of the founding French Socialist's work.

In the absence of an Amazon price, I'm not sure I can offer Joachim Quelque Chose online (no, it no longer qualifies as a Fair Trade Book). Local readers deserve to know what makes this quirky little book so special. Online readers may or may not be able to buy copies here.