THE FOURTH KING

Sieger creates a holiday fable based on the classic tale by Henry Van Dyke. In this version, the fourth Wise Man is called King Mazzel, and he narrates the story in first person, announcing from the first page that he arrived “too late and empty-handed” in Bethlehem. King Mazzel and his faithful camel, Chamberlin, set off to meet the Three Wise Men, but he’s repeatedly delayed, as he rescues others in the desert. The Magi are glimpsed far ahead of him on the journey, but King Mazzel can never catch up with them. When King Mazzel and his camel reach the empty stable, the king is sad enough to weep, feeling his journey was a failure. From a burst of golden light, a voice recounts all that King Mazzel has done on his journey and says, “I will be with you forever.” Sieger’s detailed illustrations in ink with digital color use tiny figures against broad backgrounds of sand and starry skies. Several gatefold pages extend the landscape format of the volume so that dramatic scenes can be extended even further. (Fiction. 7-11)