King With Horse's Ears [Hardcover]

Eric Maddern (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

King Mark has a secret: he has horse's ears. No-one knows about it except his barber, who is sworn not to tell, on pain of losing his head. But the secret eats away at the barber until he has to tell his doctor - and the doctor advises him to tell his secret to the ground. So the secret grows into reeds, the reeds are made into pipes - and eventually the king has to admit his secret...How King Mark learns to live with his ears is told with good humour by professional storyteller Eric Maddern with delightfully droll artwork by Paul Hess

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'Eric Maddern and Paul Hess's version gives the tale new legs and a strong heart.' TES Teacher" --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Eric Maddern has written many books for Frances Lincoln such as Earth Story and Life Story, Curious Clownfish and Rainbow Bird. The Fire Children, illustrated by Frane Lessac, was chosen for Junior Education Books of the Year 1993 and selected for Children's Books of the Year 1994. Whereabouts: Gwnyedd, Wales; Paul Hess's books include an animal series published by Zero to Ten; Josephine Poole's Jack and the Beanstalk, Alan MacDonald's Pig in a Wig and Sam MacBratney's Once There was a Hoodie, and Malachy Doyle's The Great Castle of Marshmangle. Whereabouts: Frome

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Frances Lincoln Ltd (July 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0711219575
• ISBN-13: 978-0711219571
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 8.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,453,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Goodness wins over, November 3, 2009

By 

S. Brooks "Story Guy" (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: King With Horse's Ears (Hardcover)

Eric Maddern and Paul Hess, to me, are a match made in heaven. I have long been a fan of storyteller Eric Maddern, having seen him many years ago, and to discover these books where he has collaborated with Paul Hess is a gem and a joy. I now share Eric's stories with my children at home. Eric's telling of this wonderful Welsh tale is as spacious as his other picture books - his voice comes loud and strong, but in such a gentle manner. His wit and delivery are dry which make the tale so powerful. This story is about a king who has horse's ears but is ashamed of the fact. He threatens his barber, the only one to know of this 'deformity', to, well, he'd better not let the secret out, but it does get out and the barber is not doing too well. But then King Mark realizes that his people love him for WHO he is, not because he has huge ears and the barber is spared. King Mark's people love him because he is fair, honest and just. This is a great lesson to be learned by young people. So often those who are different are put down, because kids do not understand. This book explains that people are people no matter who they are or what they look like. The story is told in a fun and light manner, and the glorious illustrations by Paul Hess add to the telling. I love it when a writer (or storyteller) gets paired with a perfect match to illustrate their stories. This has happened with Maddern and Hess. May their collaboration be long and prosperous.