PRINCE BERTRAM THE BAD
by Arnold Lobel
A riotous twist on the good-little-prince fairy tales, this tells of an incorrigible member of the royal family who in no uncertain terms was a regular monster. Prince Bertram broke toys, attacked the citizenry with his peashooter, threw spiders in the chicken needle soup and turned his poor daddy's royal hand red from innumerable spankings. Then one day Prince Bertram goes too far. He mistakenly attacks a witch with his sling-shot and with one "alagabim" the beastly boy becomes a beastly dragon. Accepted by no one, the reincarnated little prince wanders the forest in lonely despair. Only when he rescues the witch from a snowstorm, is he returned to his original form, with one major change — Bertram's beastliness is gone forever. Here is a story for all vicarious monsters to enjoy and authentic ones to ponder. Arnold Lobel's hilarious illustrations (two colors) allow for no suppression of giggles among children and adults alike.