Alex Beard (1)

The surface story of monkeys playing games with a nut from a baobob tree and being afraid to retrieve it when it rolls into a cave goes oh-so-much deeper. It's a story about the joys of play; it's a story about art and creating art for art's sake, not for competing to see whose art is best--which makes readers think about the dangers of competition. It's a story about bonding, and it's a story of the fear of the unknown. Beard, who has his studio in New Orleans, used his own and his child's show more fingerprints, handprints, and footprints to create the art. All the more lovely that his own process echoes the very message of the book. show less

The Lying King
Author/Illustrator: Alex Beard

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book is a whimsical morality tale for kids and is a trenchant social commentary for adults.

Plot
The Lying King is dedicated to Uncle Sam. That should tell you a little bit about the tongue-in-cheek tone of this book. As an adult, I completely loved his sly references to our current political climate.
“He said he was great at whatever he tried. Tremendous! Outstanding!”
Kids show more won’t necessarily catch all of the levels that adults will see but they will love this well-told tale. The warthog is a bully of the worst type. He lies outrageously and belittles others to get to the top. Kids will recognize this type of person from their own lives. The best part of this morality tale is that the nasty, truly obnoxious warthog gets his comeuppance at the end. If only all bullies were truly and properly punished.

Illustrations
I loved the pictures in this book. They are almost musical if that makes sense. The simple line drawings curve and dance around the page. They are full of swirls and bulges that cavort across the surface. Each page has an illustration surrounded with white that just serves to bring the eye to the main point of each picture. The main warthog practically prances he is so full of himself. Even the leaves surrounding him seem to be part of his dance. My favorite part is the human expression on the animals. This is especially true on the sad-eyed giraffe with his beautiful jigsaw coat. There is this image of the majestic giraffe bending almost to the ground in utter subservience (proffering a rose no less!) and still the despot warthog is accusing him of thievery. The only lines that are not flowing and lyrical are the straight-lined crown. It has hard edges that end in firm points.

In conclusion, I highly recommend this book. Kids will love seeing this outrageous bully get his just desserts and parents will appreciate the author’s nuanced commentary on our current political situation. show less

The Lying King—an early reader review
I Love It!
Like most fables, this story came wrapped in the guise of a cautionary story for children, but it can be read at multiple levels that both justifies the adult reader (cause, seriously, who hasn’t been lied to?), but also turns the little mirror of shame on those of us who have not always been totally honest all the time either. In our personal dealings, in our professional ones and all the way up the political ladder, will anyone rest show more totally assured of the crown we have placed upon our own heads? This is a short easy read that invites being revisited almost immediately—it can be the simple story of a self-glorified pig, but it can also be a starting point of discussions with that sweet little someone who may have begun to cross the line of truthfulness a little too frequently. The story traces the beginning of the warthog’s life of lies as a cover for inadequacy, through his bullying others into submission, to his confusion about what is truly accurate, and ultimately to the stinging contempt of those who were repeatedly lied to and lied about. Little white lies become dirtier and dirtier as the warthog king romps through the pages of this book and illustrates why honesty is something society needs--why people must be truthful and kind in order for trust to flourish. The illustrations are simple but very expressive—some totally in keeping with the undercurrent of the tale (like the King upended on his own crown! Or the folly of the antelope that believes the warthog’s claim that the tiger doesn’t eat meat.)
I truly enjoyed this book! I feel very lucky to write an early review! I would recommend it in a heartbeat! show less

You know, I would have enjoyed this so much had it not been for the way each and every animal in the book was gendered male. In a book about endangered species, it made me think maybe the species are endangered because they have no females!!!!

So, the distracting sexism and the need to re-gender half the animals while I was reading kind of undercut the otherwise useful message.

Still I give it a 3 for what it was and bump it another half star to 3.5 because of the use of humor at the end, and show more the happy ending that happened anyway, and the afterward about the status of the various species. show less