KING & KING & FAMILY

In this disappointing follow-up to the wickedly fey King and King (2002), our newly married heroes honeymoon in the jungle and pick up a daughter. Both King Lee and King Bertie are charmed by the animal families they see gamboling along their path. “ ‘All those animals with their babies,’ King Bertie sighed. ‘I wish we had a little one of our own.’ ” But wait—even as he breathes these words, a little girl (who has been stalking them throughout) is busily stowing away in their luggage, to be adopted upon discovery. This offering misses the mark its predecessor so effectively hit; while the first story played effectively with the conventions of marriage-quest fairy tales, this is a purposive, obvious, and frustratingly illogical attempt, where the intent to address an issue crowds out any real delight that might be had. The mixed-media illustrations are as zany as ever, the jungle scenes featuring lush green backdrops against which families of every conceivable species present themselves (hippos, crocodiles, snakes, spiders, etc.), but unfortunately they cannot raise this piece of bibliotherapy to the level of literature. (Picture book. 4-8)