Customer Reviews

The King with Six Friends

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Probably because it was the longest in our cannon, my brothers and I would ask our parents to read it again and again. The values of cooperation, non-judgement, appreciating a diversity of friends have stayed with me through life. A classic, sadly out of print, as is his equally brilliant "Evenyone Knows What A Dragon Looks Like."

This is a wonderful story, told as a fairy tale, about a king and his friends, each with a unique talent. They help each other using these gifts and are ultimately successful as a team in a situation where any one would have failed. The illustrations are old-fashioned but beautiful. The situations are interesting to children and make this a great introduction to longer fiction.

Cheerful young King Zar's coutnry is overthrown by a rival king, who spares his life but takes everything he has save one suit of clothes and a small bag of money. Undaunted, Zar sets out to find work for himself; unfortunately, no one wants to hire a deposed king. Along the way, Zar makes six highly unusual friends; Eryx can become a serpent, Furze can become a tree, Kindle can become a fire, Edge can become an axe, Agus can become an elephant, and Dumble can become a bee swarm. As Zar rescued each of these men from predicaments their talents brought about, the six travel with him on his journey to find a job. Their powers come in very handy when Zar falls in love with a princess, whose haughty father forces the younger king to perform three nearly impossible challenges before he can wed her.

I believe at some point my mother, my father, and myself have all read this book aloud to someone; I also try to share it with every fellow bookworm I meet. The tale is classic, with the dialogue well-written, the characters engaging, the illustrations artistically and beautifully rendered, and the timeless morals of good leadership and loyalty well to the fore. Zar himself is also a good role model, who never lets his troubles get him down, and handles difficulties with unshakable aplomb; doing, as Agus puts it, "what only a good king can do; he led us!" I highly recommend this book to anyone - especially parents of young children - who love to read a good story, as the book is rather obviously made for reading aloud to an audience. My only regret is that it is out of print, and that less and less of this generation will hear this timeless tale.

I read this book when I was a child, and it had been my mother's when she was a little girl. I loved it when I was a child and, to this day, I keep it on my bookshelf in my office and have used it in leadership and teamwork seminars as the message the is imparted in the conclusion is truly fantastic.

It's a real shame that this book is out of print.

I love this book!! I am a soldier and I love this book as a retirement gift for friends who are also great leaders!

I loved this book as a child. I read it and re-read it. It's such a wonderful tale of friendship, the importance of teamwork, and a celebration of unique talents. A king who has lost his kingdom acquires six friends, each with a unique ability. If memory serves, one could turn into a swarm of bees, another into a serpent, another a tree, and so on. The king rescues them from some predicament, and they accompany him on his travels. He eventually enters a new kingdom, where a princess awaits a worthy suitor. The king vies for her hand, but must pass several tests to satisfy her father. Each of the six friends' abilities help the king pass the tests.

The illustrations are gorgeous, in a classic style. Each character displays some aspect of his talent in his appearance.

I have spent years trying to remember the title of this book and finally came across it again. It's sadly out of print, but worth the search, as are the other titles from Parent's Magazine Press. My family had several of these books, and they were treasures all. They helped spawn a love of books which continues to this day, leading me to a career as a bookseller.

A fantastic adventure - one of my favorite books as a child! I ordered copies for myself, my brother, my sister, and my mom. It is just as wonderful as I remember. The illustrations are superb, and the story is timeless.

The King With Six Friends remains one of my fondest childhood storytime experiences. The illustrations are sublime and match the story in mood and immagination. The gender roles are definitely outdated which gives the oportunity to discuss that times have changed since Kings ruled all of Europe and that princesses are no longer given away, although the one in this tale seems delighted with her father's choice of husband for her. Each companion of the "king without a kingdom" has a different power which the king directs to cooperatively save them all from certain death, after saving each of them one by one from dilemmas they got themselves into. I have never seen more beautiful paintings in a children's book which are matched with eloquent dialogue. The copy my mother gave me in 1975 is missing pages now and I was delighted to find one in very good condition on Amazon!