The Real Thief [Paperback]

William Steig (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

Gawain is a loyal and true goose serving as chief guard of the royal treasury. He’d been happy enough with his life at home tending his garden and making sketches of architectural masterpieces. Now he’s being charged with stealing from the treasury. Gawain is certain of his innocence, but he can’t prove it. Will the real thief come forward to save Gawain, or will he live in exile forever?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Who hasn't known the sickening, demoralizing feeling of being falsely accused? In The Real Thief, William Steig explores this injustice with the keen insight of a good psychologist and the skillful pacing of a brilliant storyteller. Gawain is a goose, a guard for the new Royal Treasury, and intensely loyal to the honey-scented, gruff, fatherly King Basil the bear: "He wanted to please him, to stay forever in his gruff, good graces. Everyone did. Basil was a popular king." The Royal Treasury consists of jewels, medallions, and precious crowns of historical interest--and the only creatures who have keys to the Treasury are Gawain and the King himself. One fateful day, Gawain discovers to his horror that the pile of rubies is smaller than it should be. He hurries to tell the King, and they both rush back to count them: "Sure enough, there were only 8,643 of the red gems when there should have been 8,672." Day after day, treasures continue to disappear, including the world-famous Kalikak diamond!

The King is flummoxed. He calls a meeting of his Royal Cabinet, who finally persuade him that the thief must be his faithful Gawain, whom he loves like a son: "He sent his councilors away and slumped in his throne, dejected. Having listened to an opinion he didn't really believe but was forced to respect, he grew confused and fell into muddled ponderings." That very night Gawain is rousted out of bed at midnight and dragged to the castle dungeon. A trial is held a few days later, and the innocent goose is found guilty, his name disgraced forever. He hates the ones he had trusted and loved for seeing evil in him that isn't there, and he flies the coop before he can be locked away. The real thief? That is for the reader to discover. In this simple fable of justice, loyalty, friendship, and betrayal, Steig again manages to portray a reflection of life so heart-rendingly accurate it's uncanny. Children will be on the edge of their seats throughout this powerful, suspenseful tale, and visibly relieved by the happy, forgiving ending. (Ages 8 and older, excellent for reading aloud) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“Steig’s captivating style and tongue-in-cheek humor bring to life an endearing set of animal characters with some extremely human foibles.”—Booklist

“Impossible to resist.”—Kirkus Reviews

“In this age of poorly thought out endings to books, it’s a treat to end with one of Steig’s many stunning last lines, this one from The Real Thief, which he singled out as his favorite among his books: ‘There was peace and harmony in the kingdom once again, except for the little troubles that come up every so often even in the best of circumstances, since nothing is perfect.’”—Los Angeles Times

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Square Fish (October 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312371454
• ISBN-13: 978-0312371456
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Authors & Illustrators, A-Z > ( S ) > Steig, William
  • #32 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Ducks & Other Waterfowl
  • #56 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Ducks & Other Waterfowl

More About the Author

William Steig (1907-2003) published his first children's book, Roland the Minstrel Pig, in 1968, and received the Caldecott Medal for Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (978-1416902065) in 1970. His works also include The Amazing Bone, a Caldecott Honor Book, and Abel's Island and Doctor De Soto, both Newbery Honor Books. His most recent books published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux are Shrek! (released by DreamWorks as a major motion picture) and Wizzil, illustrated by Quentin Blake. School Library Journal named Shrek! a Best Book of 1990 and said of it, "Steig's inimitable wit and artistic dash have never been sharper or more expertly blended."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story!, September 14, 2001

By 

An 8-year old reader (Fort Knox, KY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real Thief (Paperback)

Imagine that you are the Chief Guard of the King's treasury and things are disappearing from the treasury. Now imagine that you are falsely accused of taking things from the treasury by all your friends. Last, imagine you are forced to run away and live in a cave in the woods with home-made furniture and shoes. If this sounds interesting to you, you should read The Real Thief because all of these things happen and more!

16 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best children's book I have ever read!!, December 16, 2001

By 

"tgathers1" (Walnut, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real Thief (Paperback)

I am an avid reader and this is the one THE BEST children's book I have read. Great moral and ethical values for a child to learn at an early age. Loyalty, honestly, and integrity are more important than money, and position. Also, when life seems to turn against you, sometimes your friends turn and run also. Can't understand why this book has not become as popular as James and the Giant Peach which was made into a movie and written by the same author. This was far far better and I think should be required reading for every child. Also the words used by the author will probably challenge the average reader and might possibly require a dictionary sometimes to be nearby. Which is not bad either.

Unfortunately it does not seem to be in hard back. A book you'd want to keep in your library even after your children are grown. Mine are now 19 and 17, so I am buying it for gifts for other children. Excellent book!!!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous for Young Children, June 1, 2011

By 

Will Riddle "and Jaime Riddle" (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Real Thief (Paperback)

I originally bought this book for my 8yr old to read silently. But when I skimmed it myself, it was so lovely and humorous, I decided to read it aloud to him and my 6yr old as well. Then my 5 and 3yr old wanted in on the action, as they heard us! We have read it many times together now.

It's an animal fairy tale. Gawain the goose is a guard and wrongfully accused of stealing from the king's treasure house. He and the king are the only ones with keys, so everyone attacks Gawain because there is NO way anyone else could have stolen the treasure. They put him in prison, take him to court, and he is judged guilty. At the last moment before he is taken back to prison, he manages to escape and fly away. He is saddened by the loss of loyalty from his friends and the king, determined to never come back.

Of course we find out who the real thief is--a mouse--and the mouse goes through the throes of guilt as he watches Gawain get accused. He is ready to confess when Gawain escapes, and then he doesn't have to. But as the town continues to bad-mouth Gawain, the mouse decides he has to make things right. He takes several brave steps to restore Gawain's honor and ends with the huge trek to find and confess to Gawain himself.

The story has a happy ending for children who care about that (I do!). And it is very age appropriate (4-10yrs?). It is a lesson about loyalty, honesty, conscience, and honor, but in a way children can understand. It also taught my kids a little about courts and proper justice. It is probably above the heads of an average preschooler, but all my young children were enthralled to hear the plot unfold--it was very suspenseful. They particularly liked how they didn't have to wait long to find out who the real thief was... they were happy to know early and to see how the thief was going to make things right.

We have a number of Steig books, but this is the kids' favorite. It's kind of long, but the story goes quickly. The vocabulary is challenging, but that's supposed to be good for kids, and the text is not as verbose as Abel's Island and some others Steig has written. As an adult, I sort of wished that there had been a little more reckoning for the mouse =) but kids loved the mercy ending and understood that the guilt the mouse felt was supposed to be enough punishment.