King of the Birds

by Shirley Climo, Ruth Heller (Photographer)

When chaos reigns among the birds, Owl declares a contest to determine who will be their king.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 1988

About the author

Shirley Climo was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1928. She attended DePauw University until her mother died unexpectedly in 1949. She dropped out of college and took up her mother's work writing scripts for the weekly WGAR-Radio children's program Fairytale Theatre. During her lifetime, she wrote 24 books including The Korean Cinderella; Magic and Mischief: Tales from Cornwall; A Treasury of Princesses: Princess Tales from Around the World; A Treasury of Mermaids: Mermaid Tales from Around the World; and Someone Saw a Spider: Spider Facts and Folktales. She died on August 25, 2012 at the age of 83.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anyone who has ever heard that old Irish folksong, The Wren in the Furze - "The wren, oh the wren, he's the king of all birds, on St. Stephen's Day he got caught in the furze" - and wondered how the wren came to be the king of the birds, will undoubtedly appreciate this retelling of a widespread folktale, one which answers that very question. Confronted with absolute chaos in the avian world, Old Mother Owl, in her wisdom, suggests a flying contest to determine who will be king of the birds. Using his wits, rather than his (minimal) strength, the Wren wins the contest...

I enjoyed this picture-book retelling of this tale, although I would have appreciated a little more detail, when it came to the sources Climo used. Her very brief afterword, of no more than a sentence or two, in which she mentions that Aesop told a similar tale, and that most of the folk traditions of Europe (as well as the Chippewa) contain a variant of it, didn't really clarify which tradition this retelling reflected. Still, the story itself was engaging - part pourquoi tale, explaining how wren came to have his appearance, and part morality tale, imparting a lesson about the importance of creative thinking - and the illustrations by Ruth Heller were bright and appealing. I particularly liked the purplish-gray feather to be found floating on most of the pages. I see that Helen Ward has also retold this tale, in her The King Of The Birds - I may have to take a look at that one as well, in order to contrast and compare.

[Alyssa Crabb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture Book - Legend of how Wren becomes king of the birds. He sneaks into Eagle's feathers during a flying contest so that he actually does go the furthest and longest. He did this and was wise. One of the oldest legends - orginally told by Aesop.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like books and stories from ancient legends. This one tells how some people explained how the Wren became king of all the birds.

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peacock