Haan, Linda and Stern Nijland. King and King.
King and King is a book about a prince who is ordered by his mother, the queen, to find someone to marry so he could become king. The prince is dissatisfied with all the princesses that who arrive at the castle hoping to be chosen to be his wife. It wasn’t until a princess arrived with her brother, Prince Lee, that the prince fell in love. However, he did not wish for the princess; he instead wanted to marry the Prince Lee. The two were wed and became known as “King and King.” There is a sequel to the book entitled King and King and Family which follows the two kings on their honeymoon, where they find a orphaned girl and decide to raise her as a princess.
The text and illustrations in King and King are interesting and attractive for young readers. The text is not written in straight lines and plain font; instead, it is curved around the page and uses different fonts and sizes throughout the book. The illustrations are cartoons but are somewhat abstract. The “messy” fashion of the illustrations truly draws attention to the pictures as the story is read.
King and King has been challenged in many schools and libraries. The most notable confrontation against the book was in 2006 when a lawsuit was filed against an elementary school that contained the book in its library. The lawsuit claimed that the book constituted sexual education without parental consent and that young children were presented with a positive view of homosexuality, which may not be the beliefs of the students’ families. Luckily, the judge dismissed the case and celebrated the book for its depiction of diversity within our society.
King and King told an interesting spoof of more commonly known fairy tales as the prince searches for his soul mate in order to take the throne. The book never calls the prince “gay” and does not reveal any hesitation or disappointment from others when he decides to marry another male instead of the females that are brought to the castle. The book ends by saying that “everyone lives happily ever after” as the two kings enjoy their life together. Although the narrative is rather simplistic, the story captures the idea that it is okay to go against other’s expectations (i.e. the prince marrying a woman) if what you choose to do remains true to yourself.
1 comment:
I too really liked this book and thought about including it in my collection for this project. I agree with what we discussed in class about how children could relate to the familiar story format but in a new way. Its such a great idea to include this in a set of classic fairy tale novels! I really hope that this book is accepted more and more in mainstream librarys, I had a really hard time finding it and thats why I left it out. Thanks for writing a great review of it!
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