The King and the Seed

By Eric Maddern, Paul Hess (illustrator),

Book cover of The King and the Seed

Book description

Old King Karnak is worried. He hasn't long to live, and there is no heir to the throne. So he holds a rather unusual competition to find one. Knights and nobles flock to the palace and the King gives each of them a tiny seed to grow. Jack the farmer's…

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Funny

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Why read it?

1 author picked The King and the Seed as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Allison Galbraith

Author

This is a one-story picture book from another great storyteller, Eric Maddern, with fantastic illustrations by Paul Hess.

I love this clever, funny folktale and have often told it to festival and school audiences. The text is elegant and easy to read for ages 7 plus, but younger children will enjoy having it read to them. The humour in the tale is brilliantly portrayed in Paul Hess's colourful, amusing pictures. Look out for the three blind mice.

As with most folk stories, the meaning or moral of the tale is shown through clever wit and riddle-like logic. This story has…

From Allison's list on world folktales for reading to everyone over six.