Skip to main content

The King and the Magician



Cover image for The king and the magician 

by Jorge Bucay
Abbeville Kids, 2014
Picture book

In a distant land, a cruel king seeks only for absolute power. Upon hearing of a magician who not only has the power to tell the future, but is beloved of the people for his wisdom and kindness, the king determines to call this rival to the palace and kill him. However, when asked to predict the day of his own death, the clever magician replies that he will die on the same day as his king. The king, fearing for his own life, keeps the magician safe in his palace, under the pretext of asking the magician’s advice on running the kingdom. Thus begins a transformative journey for king and kingdom.
This original fairytale has all the timelessness and enduring nature of the folktales of the ages. Originally published in Spain, this picture book has it all: a satisfying story, an emotionally impactful message, and outstanding artwork. The sumptuous gold lettering of the text nicely sets off Gusti’s unique and subtle collages with their rich textures and colors. The moral messages of the story are refreshingly authentic as they explore compassion, forgiveness, wisdom, and the courage to open one's heart to love and change. Ages 4 and up.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Bletchley Riddle

  The Bletchley Riddle By Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Fiction. 392 pages. It's spring of 1940, Hitler has swept through most of Europe, and people believe England will be next. Half Polish-Jewish, half American Jakob has been recruited from Cambridge to Bletchley Park where they are working on deciphering the enigma machine. Jakob's sister Lizzie, meanwhile, is being forced to move from London to Cleveland to live with her grandmother after her mother disappeared in a 1939 attack in Poland. Lizzie manages to escape the keeper her grandmother sent for her to bring her to America and makes her way to Bletchley, where she's eventually given the task of delivering messages between departments. When secret messages begin appearing with Lizzie's belongings, she must decipher them to find the truth about her mother's past and location, while keeping the secrets away from the MI5 agent that seems a little t...

Painting for Peace in Ferguson

Painting for Peace in Ferguson By Carol Swartout Klein Treehouse Publishing Group, 2015. Nonfiction. When the city of Ferguson was overrun with so much hate and despair that homes and businesses had to be boarded up to protect property, citizens of the community decided to bring a message of hope by painting the boarded windows. Klein’s rhyming text supports the photographs of the hundreds of artists and volunteers and their artwork as they bring the messages of peace, hope, love, and that by being united they can make a difference. A great book to show children how a community rallied to make a positive change and that even a small gesture can make a huge difference. A great discussion opener on how we should treat each other.

Review: Faker

Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...