This is a re-post from a June 2009 article I wrote for an online magazine. Still relevant and maybe even more so with the impending Tintin Movie!
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At my stores, my staff and I are often asked what kinds of Tintin books would be best for a young child (usually 10 and under). This is a trickier questions than many would assume since the subject matter is varied and some of it can be rather sophisticated for a young reader. With the news of the upcoming Tintin movie, questions about how to get a young child started with the books are becoming more common. To help, I have compiled a list of the best Tintin books for children.
The criteria:
- Action/humor – the book must be one with a lot of action and physical humor because the stories tend to be heavy on dialogue and young readers sometimes have a difficult time with many of the big words and odd font style used in the Herge books;
- Politically and culturally neutral – we steer customers toward books with plots and characters that can be understood out of their historical context. For example, The Blue Lotus was written specifically to criticize British and Japanese colonialism in China, and without being able to understand that message, the book losses much of its impact.
- Compelling illustrations – the stories must be supported with action-driven full-color illustrations that transport the reader into the narrative.
- Characters – the books, especially for new readers, should have as many of the Tintin characters as possible.
Based on the above, here are my choices for the Best Tintin books for children 10 and under:
Tintin in Tibet
This is rumored to be Hergé’s favorite book in the Tintin series. While it does have a slower pace, this balances well with the slapstick antics of Captain Haddock. The plot: Tintin, vacationing in the Alps with Haddock and Calculus, has a dream in which his friend Tchang (from The Blue Lotus, an early Tintin album) is in serious danger. As they soon learn, Tchang was a passenger on a plane which has crashed in the Himalayas, apparently without survivors. Tintin is convinced Tchang is alive, and is determined to rescue him. In Tibet, Tintin meets the Yeti, a central character in the book, and a kid-favorite. Side note: the book shows an independent Tibet, having been written just before the Chinese invasion.
The Secret of the Unicorn / Red Rackham’s Treasure
We never let someone leave one of our stores with only one of a two-part story so I am combining the books in this list. The Secret of the Unicorn combines a puzzling mystery with a ripping pirate yarn. When Tintin finds a magnificent model ship in the street market, his attempt to buy it for Captain Haddock leads him on a trail of pickpockets, burglars, and secret treasure, and Captain Haddock’s family history. Haddock enthralls him with a tale of his seafaring ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock (who was exclaiming ”Thundering typhoons!” generations before the Captain ever did), and his fateful encounter with the fearsome pirate Red Rackham. The story is also notable for Hergé’s fantastic eye for ship detail as well as the first appearances of Nestor and Marlinspike Hall.
The story continues with Red Rackham’s Treasure where we follow Tintin and friends as they search for the pirate booty procured by Captain Haddock’s ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock, in the West Indies. They receive some unexpected help in the form of a hard-of-hearing inventor named Professor Calculus, who would go on to become one of the most endearing characters of the series. (Hergé admitted that the character was one “whom I never suspected would take on such importance.”) It’s a lot of fun, with some submarine and diving adventures, humor from Thompson and Thomson, and an unexpected (but satisfying) ending.
Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon
These two books are heavy on dialogue, but they also introduce the reader to some of the most iconic illustrations in the world, and simply must not be excluded from any child’s Tintin library. In Destination Moon, Tintin begins his greatest adventure when he and Captain Haddock are rather cryptically summoned to join Professor Calculus in the foreign (and fictional) land, Klow. Written in 1953, well before Neil Armstrong, Tintin and Captain Haddock learn Professor has joined a consortium in order to build a rocket designed to land a person on the moon. Unfortunately, the project has also attracted some unwanted attention from those who will resort to sabotage to steal the technology. Is the project successful? Well, it’s probably not that great of a spoiler to reveal that the story is continued in Explorers on the Moon. In Explorers, Tintin and his friends find themselves mixed up in misadventures and mystery soon after the launch of the celebrated rocket. Joining Tintin in space are the ubiquitous “certified detectives,” Thomson and Thompson, who are discovered on board–inadvertent stowaways who threaten to monopolize the ship’s precious oxygen supply. All’s well that lands well and Tintin and his colleagues return to Earth safely.
The Black Island
The Black Island is an exciting and very funny tale of intrigue set in the Scottish town of Kiltoch, headquarters of a gang of international forgers and possibly, a dreaded beast. During his travels, Tintin is framed and must dodge pursuit by his old detective friends, Thompson and Thomson. He also meets Dr. Müller, who would return in Land of Black Gold. The Black Island is one of the earlier Tintin adventures, first appearing in Le Petit Vingtieme in 1937 and 1938, but it was revised and redrawn in 1966, which is why it has the more mature look of Hergé’s later work. This book has some of the more compelling locomotive illustrations and has good pacing for a young reader.
King Ottokar’s Sceptre
Sceptre rounds out the list based on plot alone. What it might lack in fantastical illustrations, it more than makes up for with intrigue, quick escapes, caper, and rescue. Tintin is at his heroic best. In the tale, Hergé takes Tintin through a sequence of strange events to the mythical Kingdom of Syldavia, the history of which is revealed throughtout the book. The drawings and information which bring this country to life: a combination between Zenda and Albania, are amazing. More than just a “history” lesson, the book details a plot by Fascists based in neighboring Borduria, to unseat Syldavian King Muskar, by seizing the symbol of the Syldavian monarchy, the mediaeval King Ottokar’s Scepter. Tintin is called to the rescue. Side note: this book is considered Herge’s most daring fight against fascism. It was first published in French in 1939, and written at the time Europe was under the thumb of totalitarianism: Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin.
The Shooting Star
Hergé takes Tintin on a fantastical journey to investigate a fallen meteorite which has some surprizing effects on vegetation. Fantastic maritime and aviation illustrations are to be found throughout this book, and Hergé does a particularly great job with Tintin’s dog, Snowy in this story.
Buy your Tintin books at Wundertime.com.
