In a Small Kingdom by Tomie dePaola

The old king has died. Who will now rule the Kindgom?

"It was said the old king had possessed secret powers against bandits and thieves ... "

This power comes from a special and magnificent Imperial Robe. 

In three days the young prince will be crowned as the new king but (as is the way with all good fairy tales) the young prince's older half brother makes his own plan. He wants to take the power and exert his own control so he plots to destroy the Robe. 

The Robe is destroyed but luckily the greedy half brother does this by slashing and and cutting the Robe and tossing it out into the wind so all is not lost. 

Pieces of the Robe are found by young children out in the fields. The wise woman of the village can see this fabric is important and precious. She knows these are fragments of the Imperial Robe.  There is not enough to remake the whole thing but she asks everyone to bring a piece of their own fabric. Treasured pieces of fabric - each piece has special significance for the giver.  They "sewed them together with fragments of their own lives ... They did it out of love for you and for the kingdom."

Bookseller blurb: In a small kingdom along an ancient road, a bell rings out. The beloved king has died, leaving his magnificent and powerful Imperial Robe to his heir, the young prince.  But when the prince’s jealous older half-brother steals the Imperial Robe, slashing it to bits, the prince can no longer rule—and the small kingdom is in great danger. Now the young prince must find another source of power and of strength—and he finds it in a surprising place.

A triumphant story celebrating the ability of love, community, and cooperation to overcome any obstacle. Kirkus

It is a curious thing that the superb illustrator Tomie dePaola did not illustrate this book himself but in saying that I don't want to detract from the splendid illustrations by Doug Salati. This book was  published in 2018 and sadly Tomie died in 2020. In a Small Kingdom is most certainly a book teachers and Teacher-Librarians could add to their read aloud pile. This book is out of print but it may be in a well stocked library. Here is a video of the whole book.  The blurb says this story is a modern fairy tale and I agree.  I would pair this book with The Empty Pot by Demi and The Quiltmaker's Gift. 

In April 2022 a new book by Doug Salati will be published:

The Prince's Bedtime by Joanne Oppenheim illustrated by Miriam Latimer

Five years ago I talked about The Prince's Breakfast. The Prince's Bedtime is actually the first installment.

Books that use rhyme often don't work or as my friend, who is far more expert than me would say, they don't scan well. I am happy to say this one does work. The rhyme is fun and the beat is not lost when you read the text aloud. My copy of this book (borrowed from a school library) was published in 2006 but there is a new edition of The Prince's Bedtime published in 2019 with an audio narrated by Hugh Bonneville.

Check out the rhyme:

"The first to arrive was a bearded physician
Who promised his medicine would cure the condition."

"But the Prince was so tickled he giggled all night
He laughed and he laughed at the ludicrous sight."

So how will they get this crazy Prince to sleep.  If you look at my post label - books and reading - you will have the answer.

Here is the website for Joanne Oppenheim and also for Miriam Latimer.

Here are some other books for older children about gathering help from across the kingdom to solve an issue:

The Seeing Stick

The Glassmakers daughter

The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup

The most wonderful thing in the world

You could pair The Prince's bedtime with these:

Princess Smartypants and the missing princes by Babette Cole

I first read Princess Smartypants thirty years ago.  I loved it and gave a copy to a newly born young relative much to the consternation of her conservative grandfather.

I have always had the full set of Princess Smartypants books in our library along with so many other terrific titles by Babette Cole.

Sadly, just recently, we lost the wonderful Babette Cole.  Fortunately this new book was already published.  The format here is a junior novel with 130 pages and 8 chapters.

In this latest installment (more will follow this year) Princess Smartypants has a problem. Her friends Snowy (Snow White), Cindy (Cinderella) and Punzie (Rapunzel) arrive in a carriage.  They need a venue for their engagement party.  "Unfortunately, the princes (the girls were planning to marry) had very troublesome mothers who all wanted the official engagement party to be held at their own particular palace. The girls had decided to take the matter into their own hands..."

Princess Smartypants is given the guest list but one name is missing - Araminta Allspell.  Think of Sleeping Beauty and the consequences of rejecting the bad fairy.  On the night of the party the three princes fail to arrive. Princess Smartypants realises they have been taken by Araminta and so the chase begins.  Of course it all ends happily ever after!  Well sort of.

This is an easy reading little chapter book filled with recognizable fairy tale characters and madcap situations.  Good will triumph but only because Princess Smartypants uses her brain and problem solving power.

You might also enjoy The Tough Princess by Martin Waddell, The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry and The Pea and the Princess by Mini Grey.

Under a silver moon by Anne Fine

This is a perfect early chapter book.  I am always on the look out for short (this book has 58 pages) illustrated (this book has brilliant line drawings by Lotte Klaver) and engrossing stories which can be read by young students in Grades 1 to 3.

As it says on the back cover "In a hot land far, far away, two baby boys were born under the same silver moon."  These two boys, however, could not be more different.  One is the son of the hard working gardener.  His name is Akil.  The other is the Sultan's son. His name is Haroun, Lord of the rolling desert Sands, Mirror of Stars and Heir to all Gifts and Wonders.

In scenes reminiscent of the Prince and the Pauper - Haroun and Akil become playmates and for a short time they enjoy an idyllic childhood then one day they are separated.  Akil must work with his father in the gardens and learn his trade and Harou must learn to live like a sultan.  For Haroun this mainly involves sitting around, lying around and eating.  Over time Haroun becomes fat and quite ill from inactivity.  It is the wise gardener and his son Akil who devise a miraculous cure for the young Sultan.

"Somewhere in your palace garden ... hidden under the stony soil, there lies a magic key. A spell is on it, and the moment this key lies in your son's hand, he will be cured of all his pains....There is one problem. Only the person who finds the key can have the good health it brings."

This book feels like an old fairy tale or fable - perhaps an ancient Chinese folk tale because it contains simple and important wisdom about the choices we make in our lives.

After reading Under a silver moon you might also enjoy Kumiko series.  Here is a detailed review.

Cherryblossom and the Golden Bear retold by Pamela Freeman

We have been reading fairy tales to our younger students over the last term. This began with the Princess and the Pea then Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince and Cinderella. Two interesting things occurred during these sessions. When I asked the children who had heard each of these stories before there were a small group of children aged 6 in each class who had never heard these fairly tales – this makes me quite sad. My happiness was restored, however, as I retold and then read each of these famous tales. These young children just sat spellbound. Each week the children and I enjoyed that magical moment when everyone is so caught up in a story you can hardly hear any breathing.

Moving on from the fairy tales I have begun reading folk tales and fantasy stories to Year 3 students. I started with a few favourites from our library collection. Last term we all enjoyed The Moon’s Revenge by Joan Aitken, The Minstrel and the dragon pup by Rosemary Sutcliff and the Quiltmakers gift by Jeff Brumbeau and so next term we will read Cherryblossom and the Golden Bear. Just like the best fairy tales, this lovely story has the usual elements of magic and promises and trust. Cherryblossom makes a cloak of nettles and a dress of cherry blossoms. It is this unselfish act that sets the Golden Bear free revealing a golden haired prince in his place.

Pamela Freeman explains the origins of this story on her web site.