King Bob's New Clothes [Hardcover]

Dom Deluise (Author), Christopher Santoro (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up

King Bob believes that he is dressed in special robes, ones that can only be seen by the pure of heart, and marches his way into town, but when a little boy points out that the king is not wearing anything at all, the situation takes an amusing turn.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Walking a thin line between the witty and the precious, comedian DeLuise brings an ebullient, jaunty style to this version of "The Emperor's New Clothes." He moves the story along briskly while conveying just enough worldly sophistication to flatter a young audience: describing the magical cloth that "only the pure of heart could see," for example, DeLuise says in an aside, "Can you imagine anyone believing such a thing?" But the author brings a heavy hand to his delivery of what he sees as the tale's moral: setting the right priorities in life. Priorities, he intones, "are those things in your life that are most precious to you, like being kind to your friends and yourself; eating healthily; getting enough sleep; brushing your teeth"?and the list goes on. Fortunately, Santoro (previously paired with DeLuise for Goldilocks) never falters in his comically exaggerated illustrations. Their remarkable energy borders on animation, and children will be tickled by the sight of the chubby, flamboyantly mustachioed king (who boasts a chin to rival Jay Leno's) caught in nothing but his birthday clothes. (Lest the modesty-minded grow anxious, the king's enormous sagging paunch does double duty as a fig leaf). Four fairly simple "royal" recipes that parents and children can make together are appended. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-3-In this didactic remake of "The Emperor's New Clothes," sartorially extravagant King Discombobulated-Bob for short-buys into the promises of smooth-talking tailors Wear and Tear Kannive until a peasant lad opens his eyes (and hands him a horse blanket). From an opening sermon on personal priorities to King Bob's closing admission that his values have been all mixed up, DeLuise loses few opportunities to moralize, or to explain the nature of each character and the meaning of each statement. Except that the naked king seems to have lost his private parts, Santoro's Disneyesque cartoons leave little to readers' imagination; each detail and personality is evenly, brightly lit and obvious. In the end, the Kannives are forgiven and set to making clothes for the poor, and readers get the double bonus of a "Priority List" ("Telling the truth"; "Doing your homework") and four simplified royal recipes, including "King Crown Cake." Andersen's original tale is available in several picture book editions; for an updated version, try Stephanie Calmenson's The Principal's New Clothes (Scholastic, 1989).
John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; First Edition edition (October 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689805209
• ISBN-13: 978-0689805202
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 8.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,046,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A story to delight, December 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: King Bob's New Clothes (Hardcover)

"King Bob's New Clothes" is a story that will delight the reader. The illustrations are fun and the story, a new twist on the old "Emporer's New Clothes", is destined to make you laugh and touch your heart.

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed, May 19, 2010

By 

pepperminty (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: King Bob's New Clothes (Paperback)

After reading De Luise's other book Hansel and Gretel, which my 5 year old completely loved, I got this one for her too but I was disappointed. It seems to be making fun of the king for loving clothes and playing dress-up. Plus the clever narrative style didn't go over as well as with the Hansel and Gretel story.

Bottom line, I haven't even shared this one with my daughter.

5.0 out of 5 stars In a Naked World, May 11, 2009

By 

a gentle sound (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: King Bob's New Clothes (Paperback)

Oh it was odd to learn from Dick Van Dyke in a mother's day concert in Thousand Oaks that Dom DeLuise has passed on. He added at the closing curtain that he had just been to the memorial. That the comedian tasked us to find in the moment the joy of living. A redress of the show must go on.
I'd just been thinking of trying to find my copy of this story.

Clever word play it leads you through the tale of what the king might learn by that naked stroll through his vanities.
Reminding me that one function of these tales is gathering an insight without shedding the actually outfit in the public square. DeLuise wrote several cute kid's books.

A touching way I learned he's gone to his rest, leaving a book that's pretty good at teaching us to be a tad more "other" aware. Loved the ending.
Good read aloud.