"There was once a king who had everything."
Stop and think about this sentence and the title. Now go onto this sentence:
"He lacked almost nothing."
Wait a minute the king interprets this as he lacked Nothing. He needs Nothing. He is a collector and so he is missing this 'thing' called nothing.
Perhaps Nothing is something tiny - like a microbe. Or maybe he can find Nothing in the desert or perhaps in the vast night sky. The king demands everyone in the castle - someone must bring him Nothing. Even a tiny leaf is actually something and burning it just leaves ashes. He cannot even do nothing because that leads to daydreaming. He decides he might find Nothing if he gives everything away. He has an amazing collection of stuff but it all needs to go. The end page is sure to give you and your group of older students some thing to think about.
Bookseller blurb: There once lived a king who had absolutely everything—and we mean everything. From elephants without trunks, to caramel-flavored ice skates, to caterpillars on bicycles, and even storm clouds that refused to make lightning. Yes, there was simply nothing you can imagine that this king did not have . . . well, except for nothing itself. From author-illustrator Olivier Tallec, The King and Nothing is the wonderfully whimsical and philosophical take of one person who searches high and low for nothing, only to encounter something at every turn. Just how far will the king go to find nothing?
Heady stuff, but potentially thought-provoking fare for budding existentialists. Kirkus
Despite his important anti-materialist message, the book’s cartoonish characters all sport big noses and googly eyes, which add to the fun. Even very young children will be able to grasp that the king’s library and cabinet of curiosities (bulging with rain clouds, sandwiches, bats, cacti, and moon boots) contain more than enough stuff for a lifetime. A timely message about how the chaotic mess of too many possessions can be countered with thoughtfulness, a desire for simplicity, and a deep clean out of one’s closet. YS Book Reviews
"He'd always been told you can find anything in books, so surely they would also be a good place to find Nothing. But the king quickly realised that although he had millions of books, their pages were always filled with something, a prince in love, different ways to repair a spaceship, or simple ways to prepare French-fry cakes. Decidedly, Nothing was not hiding in his library."
The French title is: Le roi et Rien.
Olivier Tallec graduated from the Ecole Supérieure d’Arts Graphiques in Paris and worked in advertising as a graphic designer before devoting himself to illustration. He has done many illustrations for newspapers and magazines and has illustrated more than thirty books for children. He lives in Paris.
One of the things I miss now that I no longer work in a school library is connecting books either in our library sessions or for staff. If I was sharing The King and Nothing these are the two books I would use as comparison texts (or just read for fun!).
