THE QUEEN WHO COULDN'T BAKE GINGERBREAD

by Dorothy--Adapt. Van Woerkom ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 21, 1975

King Pilaf of Mulligatawny? Princess Calliope in the neighboring kingdom of Tintinnabulum? And this is a folk tale? Of German origin? Oh well, kids probably won't care if it's just, as it seems, an invention straight out of Cloud Cuckoo Land, and grownups will certainly approve the moral implicit in this story about a king who seeks far and wide for a wife as wise as she is beautiful and capable of baking gingerbread. Then he meets Princess Calliope, who is wiser than she is beautiful, cannot bake gingerbread, and what's more requires that her husband be as kind as he is handsome and able to play the slide trombone as well. Somehow though the two decide to forego their special stipulations, and they live happily together until one bad day when they upbraid each other for their respective shortcomings in music and cooking and stalk off to sulk in opposite wings of the castle. Reconciliation occurs, amidst cheers and trumpet blasts, when the two meet at last in the Great Hall--the queen playing the trombone and the king in an apron with the gingerbread he has just baked. Galdone dresses a frumpy royal couple in the usual regalia, and though his kingdoms and characters are never as exotic as their names, the triumphant good feeling of his Great Hall celebration helps to make the ending as resounding as it is wise.

Pub Date: April 21, 1975

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Knopf

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1975

Categories: CHILDREN'S