King Stork

In classic fairytale fashion, a young man returning from war helps an old man across a river, only to discover that the old man is King Stork, who offers him help whenever he needs it in exchange for his good deed. When the drummer man reaches town, he learns that the princess will marry any man who can answer a question she puts to him, and who can ask her a question she can't answer, and catch a certain bird. Using the whistle King Stork gave him, the young man outsmarts the princess - secretly an enchantress who flies through the air to visit a one-eyed witch at night - and avoids having his head cut off. He answers her question, stumps her with his own, catches (and kills) the one-eyed raven, and follows King Stork's final piece of show more advice: to pour fresh milk on the princess and beat her with a switch(!). And then...happily ever after?

(I'd love to see Alix Harrow get her hands on this for a retelling...)

Quotes

"But the drummer trudged on the way he was going, as merry as a cricket, for it is not everybody who cracks his shins against such luck as he had stumbled over, I can tell you."

"And so this story comes to an end, like everything else in the world." show less

Minimal dragons and lions, despite what the blurb implies. No dragons, no lions, despite what the blurb says. I can't tell for sure, but I don't think the text is Pyle's original (despite no mention of an adaptation, when I find picture captions for Pyle's original art the language is much more archaic). And the princess, well, is she wicked, and deserves to be beaten? Or is she a strong and smart young woman who wants to be independent, or at least to marry a man (woman?) of her choosing? Of course Hyman's art is fantastic, though. I particularly love the king.

Btw, don't get this fairy tale mixed up with the fable about the frogs who desired a king.

(A commentator told me where to find the lions and dragons... I think that somehow I show more missed that spread the other times I read it. But sure enough, OpenLibrary shows them clearly.) show less

Great, fanciful, detailed illustrations in this book. A beautiful princess is a witch, who will give her hand in marriage if 1) her question is answered, 2) she is asked a question she can't answer and 3) the bird she wants is caught. She consults a one-eyed witch nightly on which question to ask in order to dupe potential suitors, whom if they fail, have their head chopped off and put on a spike. A returning soldier takes up the challenge and utilizes King Stork's help to win the princess. With hints of domestic violence and murder, this is a typical fairytale ala the Brothers Grimm.

I love the illustrations. I do not love the sexism, hatred against non-Christians, and domestic violence.

I love this book not so much for the story, but for the illustrations. Trina Schart Hyman is one of my favorite illustrators - she has perfected her craft well, resulting in beautiful picture spreads on every page. Another facet to Hyman's work is finding the hidden pictures within the illustrations; she is an artist that always adds a little something extra to the story with her depictions.

Although this story is quite lengthy, the illustrations are absolutely amazing and helps to tell the tale of a solider trying to win the affections of a wicked princess. The story exhibits a man's ability to go though great lengths with bravery despite the circumstances he faces throughout the story.

This book has wonderful pictures. I feel as though the story is way longer than it needs to be. The idea behind the story is great. Although this is all fake, I believe students can learn for this book. This is a great illustration book, it will help kids think. at the end of the book there is an open ended question, with no right answer. Have students give their thoughts on it.