March 2nd is the start of a yearlong celebration in honor of what would have been Dr. Seuss' 100th birthday. You can find out more about the Doctor Seuss celebration at http://www.seussentennial.com. Part of the celebration is "Read Across America Day" sponsored by the National Education Association. Debbie26 decided to have a children's book write-off that will coincide with these events and King & King is my contribution.

This first picture book with words was written, illustrated and published in 2000 by two young Dutch women, Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland. The back cover information tells us that in addition to being talented artists, they are expert sandcastle builders. There is no information on their sexuality or why they chose to produce a fantasy children's book on same-sex love and marriage, but I'm glad they did.

The book is quite large (10" x 10") for a child to manage alone, but it's just the right size for someone's lap as they read to them. The colorful illustrations cover almost all of the 32 pages, and some of them even cover two pages. You can point to the funny pictures and see who can identify what. All the artwork is photographed mixed-media (tempera, acrylics and drawing ink). Collages have been added and are made of construction paper, tissue paper, paper lace, pieces of newspaper, what looks like fake fur or feathers and maybe a few wax crayon drawings thrown in for good measure.

The text of the story is limited to an easily understood sentence or two at the most on each page. The cover shows a happy prince cavorting on a hillside; he wears green and gold striped pants, a red shirt covered with stars and a dark robe with fake ermine trim. He has very short hair, a crown and holds a big ring in one hand. In the background we see trees, a castle and a few guards standing watch at the castle gate. We can see clothes on a laundry line and someone is peering out of one of the towers. The red sky is filled with all sorts of things for everyone to look at and identify; they will find things like stars and birds and even a jet airliner and what looks like confetti but might not be.

Inside on the Title Page there's another drawing of the prince in a different outfit. He's dancing in platform shoes. The next page identifies the Queen as the one who is leaning from the tower; she's looking through a piece of rolled up newspaper shaped like a spyglass. It seems she's tired of ruling her Queendom and thinks it's time for her son to find a wife. She wants to get all this accomplished before the end of summer because it seems she wants to get a sun tan.

She marches into the prince's bedroom, abruptly draws the heavy curtains aside and tells him to "Wake up!" in no uncertain terms. She tells him they're going to have a little talk. The prince is snuggled in his royal bed with the covers drawn up to his nose. He has his hands over his ears and the crown kitty is curled up on top of the royal coverlet. The Queen is in a green dress covered in orange circular designs; they could be flowers, but they could be anything . . . who knows. There is a real green ribbon tied around her waist in a bow and she carries a rolling pin. She means business!

The illustration on the next two pages shows her yelling; her mouth is wide open. She says, "I've had enough, you're getting married and that's all there is to it." All the words she is yelling are shown as pieces of cut out newspaper and other words cut from magazines. There are bits of fur and a real piece of sealing wax to make it look official. There's a drawing of a blonde princess and other funny stuff for everyone to look at.

On the following page, the double-width picture shows the Queen and her son at breakfast. The table is covered in a collage of cutout pictures of dishes and the lace tablecloth is made of cutout tissue paper something like a doily. The Prince can't even eat and feeds his fish to the crown kitty under the table while the Queen goes on and on and on saying she doesn't understand. "When I was your age, I'd been married TWICE already." There's a lot to look and point at here, too.

The next double page shows a night scene. They are still at the table, this time for dinner I guess and the Prince finally gives in saying, "Very well mother. I'll marry." He adds, I've never cared much for princesses," and we get our first hint that maybe this prince is a little bit different. The Queen toasts his "future happiness." I think she looks a little bit like a cross between the Mama of The Katzenjammer Kids and Golda Mier in drag . . . if you can imagine that.

The Queen makes telephone calls to Princesses far and wide. Very soon they start to arrive. Princess Aria from Austria is first. She is very big and sings opera; she's shown the door. Someone named Princess Dolly has flown in from Texas with her magic act, but the Prince is "not amused" and she's turned out on her ear. Next up is a funny little Princess from Greenland. She has funny round glasses, is bowlegged, has buckteeth and wears a green dress and green shoes. The dress is made of green tissue paper applied in lots of layers. She didn't pass muster either, but the Prince's Page fell in love with her so that was okay. A very tall brown Princess arrived from Mumbai, India. When the Prince says her arms will be good for waving, she gets mad at him and stomps out.

The prince and the Queen are shown looking very sad and disappointed. All of a sudden the Page announces Princess Madeleine and her brother, Prince Lee. The Prince Paul feels a stir in his heart and so does Prince Lee. It's love at first sight. The following double-page spread is filled with pictures of the two Princes each saying "What a wonderful prince." Even the crown kitty is happy and the background is filled with all kinds of hearts and flowers.

This kingdom is obviously not in the United States, because there's a real wedding in the castle church. The stained glass windows resemble those by Matisse and everything is very colorful and very happy looking. All the princesses who applied attend with their fathers. There are lots of crowns and the Queen sheds a tear as the two princes are now announced as King & King. After the wedding there is a big beautiful cake and fireworks for everyone.

The last picture shows K&K playing life-sized chess on the lawn. The Queen, the Page and the Princess from Greenland all relaxing elsewhere on the castle grounds. The Page and The Greenland Princess are sunning and so is the Queen. She's a two-piece bathing suit in a beach chair by the garden pool with a big fish spouting water.

The whole book is very funny and very enjoyable. It's non-threatening on the whole and suggests acceptance and happiness. It could be be a great way to answer questions made by your kids, and it can help to explain things like gender preference and "people who are different." On the other hand, if you know any of them, I think some of the recent gay and lesbian newlyweds might enjoy this bit of campy fluff as a wedding gift. (Tricycle Press, Singapore, ISBN: 1-58246-061-2).

Here's another review I did that helps children understand same-sex relationships: "Heather Has Two Mommies": http://www.epinions.com/content_68221963908

And, here's Paul's Handy-Dandy Gay Marriage FAQ: http://www.epinions.com/content_3440484484

Ed Grover – 2004

This is a list of the write-off contributors: artemis8, Debbie26 (our hostess), dramastef , ed_grover, Jadzia66, Kamel622, Marybatson, sleeper54, vbanuelos and Wifeofvolsfan.


Recommended: Yes