THE TALE OF THE TURNIP
adapted by Brian Alderson
When a poor farmer lucks out with a turnip that grows to gigantic proportions, he uses a block and tackle just to yank the huge root from the ground, and takes it to the king. The king is duly impressed and rewards the farmer with a cart load of gold. The local squire becomes jealous of the farmer’s good fortune and takes one of his prize horses to the king, with hopes of scoring his own wagonful of gold. The king accepts the horse, and in payment, gives the squire the giant turnip. The highlight of this one-punch story is Wegner’s expressive line drawings, in which the characters’ changing emotions are aptly captured; his pen takes in every detail of the squire’s estate and the farmer’s fields. (Picture book. 3-7)