Mr. Bello
Mr. Bello is a children's book series by Paul Maar . The main character of the books, Bello, is a dog and, through a blue miracle fertilizer, becomes a human, Mr. Bello. The story is told in part by the first-person narrator Max Sternheim, a pharmacist's son.
Mr. Bello and the blue miracle
Max wants a dog and is overjoyed that he can take in a stray dog. But when Bello licks a blue miracle fertilizer off the floor, Bello transforms himself into a person who, however, never completely lets himself get used to his dog habits. At the same time, Mr. Sternheim's friend Edgar's chickens and rabbits are also turning into humans because they have eaten food that has been fertilized with the miracle cure.
Mr. Bello is picked up by the police and it is difficult for Mr. Sternheim to explain to the police who this strange person is who lives with him. So he invents the white lie that Mr. Bello is a distant relative of the family from South Tyrol who temporarily lives with them. After two weeks, the effect of the blue juice disappears and Mr Bello becomes the dog Bello again, but still understands human language. The matter becomes critical as a lady from the youth welfare office threatens to withdraw Mr. Sternheim's custody rights for Max. But she is impressed by how well Max raised his dog and doesn't cause any further problems.
However, Mr. Sternheim is in a great predicament towards Ms. Lichtblau, as she did not know that it was Bello who arranged a rendezvous with her before he changed back. She cannot believe that because she cannot imagine that a dog can turn into a person and therefore considers him a liar:
“Either you're crazy or you're making fun of me in a mean, mean way. I go. And I never want to see you again! "
So there is nothing left but to transform Bello into a person again in front of her eyes. However, Bello can only be persuaded by Max to take this step if his Collie friend Adrienne also receives the remedy. And so it happens, even when Adrienne's master is desperately looking for his dog. As a person, Mr. Bello moves into the apartment with Adrienne, which is vacated by the fact that Ms. Lichtblau is now moving in with the Sternheims.
News from Mr. Bello
The former collie bitch turns out to be an extremely bitchy human woman and makes life difficult for everyone involved. This actually makes Max more lonely than before: Mr Bello can only visit him when Adrienne is sleeping and his father is constantly busy with his new girlfriend.
Mr. Bello is afraid of becoming a dog again and is therefore appalled when Adrienne pours the blue miracle cure down the sink. Adrienne is becoming a bitch again and is happy that she can go back to her master. In order to prevent Mr. Bello from changing backwards, Max and Mr. Bello start an intensive search for documents about the blue juice.
They track down a great uncle Astor who lives in town under the false name Gaston Proverville because of previous violations of the law. They don't get the prescription from him, but they do get information about a Melchior light blue who invented the miracle cure. His trail leads to Marburg and since Mr. Sternheim does not want to go there immediately, Max and Mr. Bello secretly make their way there. Max stole the money for the train journey from the cash register. He actually found Mr. Lichtblau there, who, however, has developed into a quirky researcher and no longer knows the recipe.
So it happens that - after several experiments - Mr. Bello becomes a dog again, but keeps the human language, which he should keep secret.
main characters
- Max Sternheim: son of Mr. Sternheim
- Dog Bello: Max's dog
- (Pippin) Sternheim: pharmacist with artistic inclinations, Max Sternheim's father
- Edgar (Schregglich): Farmer with mathematical inclinations, Mr. Sternheim's friend
- Verena Lichtblau: optician, Pippin Sternheim's friend
- Adrienne von Eschenheim: Mr. Bello's girlfriend
- Melchior light blue: quirky scientist
- Mrs. Lissenkow: cleaning lady at the Sternheims
Press reviews
"[...] Paul Maar, in turn, has invented a character who stands so far in everyday life that children can understand every situation, and who fits so little that situation comedy arises."
:
"At least as funny as the stories about Sams [...]"
:
"[...] a direct hit for readers from eight to 80 years of age and urgently recommended for a film adaptation"
:
"Paul Maar is never better than when he struggles into the bushes of a little literature, where the children play and the dogs romp."
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“In addition to the richness of narrative fantasy, the story of Mr. Bello is also a love story. Funny and exciting until the end. "
Filming / stage play
The story about Mr. Bello was filmed in 2006 by Ulrich Limmer with Ben Verbong as director and was released in May 2007. The shooting locations were Wasserburg , Regensburg , the Ammersee and Munich . Konstantin Wecker wrote the music .
In 2009, “Herr Bello and the Blue Wonder” was staged as a theatrical version at the Württemberg State Theater in Esslingen , directed by Tilo Esche in collaboration with Paul Maar , followed in 2012 by “News from Mr. Bello”. The WLB is also performing the piece as part of its traveling theater in southern Germany.
Publications
- Paul Maar: Mr. Bello and the blue miracle . Hamburg: Friedrich Oetinger- Verlag, 2005. ISBN 978-3789142512
- Paul Maar: News from Mr. Bello. Friedrich Oetinger Verlag, Hamburg 2006. ISBN 978-3789142567
- Paul Maar: See you again with Mr. Bello. Friedrich Oetinger Verlag, Hamburg 2008. ISBN 978-3789142796
Web links
- Mr. Bello licks
- www.welt.de (The book for the ear)
- www.perlentaucher.de (book review)
- www.ksta.de (Mr. Bello licks)
- Book tip from br-online.de ( Memento from March 29, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://www.wlb-esslingen.de/stueckinfo/stueckinfodetail.php?artID=2583 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
