King of the Birds
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Authors
Climo, Shirley
Issue Date
1988
Type
Book, Whole
Language
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Abstract
This book explicitly credits Aesop on its last page. At the kernel of the story is the fable about the wren riding the eagle to the heights and then soaring higher than the eagle does -- and so winning the contest to be the king of the birds. This version expands upon that simple story in a number of ways. First, it spends a good deal of time describing the Hobbsean war of all birds against all as the original state of nature. Secondly, this telling of the story includes a number of deft pourquoi asides. In the contest to fly highest, for example, ostrich is the last competitor with eagle. When eagle outsoars ostrich, the latter sank to the ground and refused to fly, ever again (21). Wren still wears the scorched feathers that she got from flying so close to the sun. A third development of the fable is that wren rules wisely, spreading the birds out through the world in habitats suited to each. The best illustrations might be the group illustrations that include a number of birds, e.g. the birds at war on 6-7. I am surprised it took me until now, twenty-five years later, to find this book!
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Citation
Publisher
Thomas Y. Crowell