Customer Reviews

The Little King December

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was so excited to read this book because I had always thought about the concept of the plot(being born big and growing smaller). The story was so imaginative. It is especially good for adults and teens to read because of the message: to keep one's imagination and to not let one's age inhibit one's actions. Fun to read to kids!

I bought this book last year for myself. It's so ponderous and mysterious, and is full of truths in hiding. The character who sees King December is a dull man with a dull job, and it's never clear if the King is part of his imagination. There is a lingering sadness throughout the book, but it's so beautiful that I cry everytime I read it.

Originally purchased this book for the illustrator (Sowa), whose work is remarkable. When the book arrived, I intended to scan the text and set the volume aside: and every time since, the same thing has happened...I read it through.
A delightful parable for any age, I was surprised to see how amenable it was to a thoughtful consideration of old age.
A graceful, witty and thoroughly surprising way to revisit every grownup's "boogeman": we don't die, we just get little!

Michael Sowa's illustrations, as usual, are superb. And each time I read Little King December new layers of meaning are revealed. It is a book I'll keep always. Looks like a children's book, and I suppose children will enjoy it, but it is also for adults. Somehow it speaks directly to your imagination and just resonates there.

A few years ago a German relative sent me an audio tape of "Der Kleine Koenig Dezember". I enjoyed it immensely and wished I could share the story with my nieces and nephews. I did search for an English version at that time and was disappointed.

This year somehow I came across an English translation of the story on the Amazon website quite by accident and quickly ordered six copies. The translation does not quite do justice to the original and is somewhat abbreviated, but the spirit of the tale is there and will be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

I mainly bought this book because of the illustrator; michael sowa, but i read through the book anyway. this is a GREAT book. very creative, and makes you laugh and think at times. short but enlightling book!