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KING OF BOREDOM by Ilaria  Guarducci

KING OF BOREDOM

by Ilaria Guarducci ; illustrated by Ilaria Guarducci

Pub Date: April 28th, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-7643-5974-3
Publisher: Schiffer

A young tot is just plain bored in this Italian import.

Poor Ben. His favorite color is light gray. His favorite sport is sitting. Lackluster and dull are just fine for him. His parents try everything to generate some excitement in him—advice from doctors, silly clowns with crazy antics—but nothing seems to help. Even his appearance matches his personality: sullen and a bit droopy. One day, Ben declares he is the “Supreme King of Boredom.” After all, he’s quite good at it. But then he decides that every king needs a throne, so he makes one out of cardboard. And of course, what good is a throne if there is not a castle? He busily constructs that, too. Once he adds the royal court—including a queen—he just may not be his usual boring self anymore! In an intriguing twist, Guarducci doesn’t take the obvious route by depicting other humans as playmates; instead, Ben’s friends are stuffed animals. Even the queen, in a wedding ceremony of exchanged bored vows, is a toy. Ben uses the same items that were visible during his most boring of days and switches his outlook. His growing imagination “almost” gives him a fairy-tale ending. But…it’s still good to be bored every once in a while. Heavy-lidded Ben presents white, as do his parents and many of the other characters who briefly interact with him.

Slight and silly—but not too boring.

(Picture book. 3-6)