The Prince's birthday was just like every other day in his father's kingdom-drab, gloomy, and completely colorless. Years ago the Prince's father had banned all color from the kingdom, so the Prince now received the same gray gifts wrapped in the same gray paper and ate the same gray birthday cake, while outside gray skies loomed. But when a special package arrives at his party, the Prince is surprised to see a very unusual creature emerge. Will his new pet bring a splash of color to the kingdom?
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Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Prince Viridian’s birthday, like every other day, is miserable. After his mother, the queen, died years ago, the king hired a royal color catcher (who is a mustache-twirling, sinister fellow, naturally) to ensure that everything remains a sooty shade of gray. A crate falls from the sky, smushing the cake, and out springs a furry splash of rainbow-bright color against the Edward Gorey dreariness. It’s a wooglefoof—a sort of rabbit/squirrel/cat critter—and after some bouncy high jinks, the royal color catcher snags it and tosses it into a deep dungeon. Viridian goes in search of the animal, meets the imprisoned royal painter, tussles with the royal color catcher, and, in a fiery sparkle of color, brings vividness back to the kingdom. With delightfully glum artwork, some bounding action (helped by a few comics-style compositions), a few sincerely scary moments, and a wooglefoof that’s so feisty and adorable that kids will want to snuggle him right off the pages, this picture book strikes an appealing Tim Burtonesque chord of dark deviousness and wide-eyed wonder. Grades 1-3. --Ian Chipman
Review
“With delightfully glum artwork, some bounding action (helped by a few comics-style compositions), a few sincerely scary moments, and a wooglefoof that’s so feisty and adorable that kids will want to snuggle him right off the pages, this picture book strikes an appealing Tim Burtonesque chord of dark deviousness and wide-eyed wonder.”--Booklist
“A furry, colorful creature brings life to a black-and-white, Edward Gorey-esque kingdom. After reading, invite students to create their own monochromatic tales.”--Scholastic Instructor
"Anderson (Nighty Night, Sleepy Sleeps) channels Jules Feiffer and Norton Juster with a dollop of Roald Dahl, cranking up the tension with moment-by-moment panel sequences, particularly in the climactic events that have the prince and color catcher teetering on the edge of an abyss. " --Publishers Weekly
“Careful readers will chuckle at the wordplay. They may also wonder who sent the package to the prince in the first place, and they will cheer when happiness is restored in the kingdom. Long live the wooglefoof!” --School Library Journal
“Creepy, kooky and deftly delivered, this dark story offers a bright ending for readers who might think they’ve just outgrown fairy tales.” --Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
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More About the Author
Brian Anderson is the creator of the syndicated comic strip Dog eat Doug. The strip enjoys an international fan base both on and offline. He is an optioned screenwriter and is currently working on several children's books, including Nighty Night, Sleepy Sleeps, based on his comic strip characters, as well as a YA novel entitled The Conjurers.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Prince's New Pet, written and illustrated by Brian Anderson, is a cartoon/story book delight. Prince Viridan's father, King Cerulean, bans all color from his kingdom after the death of his wife, Queen Perylene. Much to the dismay of the prince, the gloom of the gray kingdom makes life unbearably dull. But on the prince's birthday, a special package anonymously arrives that is meant to change all that. But can the prince keep the evil color catcher from ruining his only wish to have color restored in the kingdom? Read the book, and you will find out.
What I love about The Prince's New Pet is that the author/illustrator uses his background as a comic strip artist (Dog Eats Doug) to make this story come to life. The illustrations are marvelous, and part of the story is told through words and part is told exclusively through the pictures. The bit of color that enters the story really pops against the background of gray scale artwork. It's really quite clever. The story is ideal for anyone who has ever experienced the loss of someone special, as The Prince's New Pet might just help lift that gray, melancholy feeling that has lingered for a really long time.
The book is for ages 4 and up, but the verbiage is rather sophisticated for young children to read on their own. However, this is a perfect story for parents to read to their young children.
What I love about The Prince's New Pet is that the author/illustrator uses his background as a comic strip artist (Dog Eats Doug) to make this story come to life. The illustrations are marvelous, and part of the story is told through words and part is told exclusively through the pictures. The bit of color that enters the story really pops against the background of gray scale artwork. It's really quite clever. The story is ideal for anyone who has ever experienced the loss of someone special, as The Prince's New Pet might just help lift that gray, melancholy feeling that has lingered for a really long time.
The book is for ages 4 and up, but the verbiage is rather sophisticated for young children to read on their own. However, this is a perfect story for parents to read to their young children.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Lisa
Format:Hardcover
Something about this book didn't quite work, but I can't figure out what. It has an interesting premise - when the beloved, color-loving queen dies, the heart-broken king banishes all color from the kingdom. The prince grows up in a grey world, until he receives a bright, rainbow-colored pet for his birthday. The court-appointed color catcher turns out to be evil, happy to do away with the prince along with his colorful pet so that he (the color catcher) can somehow end up in charge of the kingdom. The prince and his pet find the court painter imprisoned underground, and eventually the three escape and bring both color and happiness to the king and the entire kingdom. The illustrations are in the same genre as Tim Burton.
The story feels choppy - the color catcher goes after the pet, the pet disappears, the king and the prince have a heart-to-heart about why the king banished color, the prince says that he'll change the rules when he is king, the color catcher overhears this and says "then we must make sure you never become king", a spider appears dangling a piece of colorful full in front of the prince's face, the prince takes off after the spider to find the pet, the color catcher chases the prince... it just feels choppy.
(Note: I received a free advance reading copy of this book from the publisher at an American Library Association Annual Conference. I was not required to write a positive review. Thank you, Roaring Brook Press!)
The story feels choppy - the color catcher goes after the pet, the pet disappears, the king and the prince have a heart-to-heart about why the king banished color, the prince says that he'll change the rules when he is king, the color catcher overhears this and says "then we must make sure you never become king", a spider appears dangling a piece of colorful full in front of the prince's face, the prince takes off after the spider to find the pet, the color catcher chases the prince... it just feels choppy.
(Note: I received a free advance reading copy of this book from the publisher at an American Library Association Annual Conference. I was not required to write a positive review. Thank you, Roaring Brook Press!)
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