Prince Bertram the Bad

by Arnold Lobel

A naughty prince throws a stone at a witch and is punished

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Dragons, Classics, Witches

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Arnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why is Bertram so Bad? Apparently he was just born that way. This isn't an in-depth debate over nature versus nurture, though; it's a quick look at how being lost in the snow while porcupines eat your gingersnaps can make you a better person.

[Molly Clemens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book! The author does a fantastic job of telling a fun story for young readers to understand. I would recommend this fairytale book to kindergarten and 1st grade teachers. Prince Bertram The Bad is an easy book to understand and the illustrations on each page does an amazing job of telling the story without the words. The details in each picture are fascinating and the color choice sets the tone.

Although this fairytale was an easy read, there is not a large amount of detail on each page. The little detail on each page creates waiting time for each student to fully understand the concepts of the story and allows time for students to predict what might happen next. This also allows for a quick discussion amongst the whole class. It is a great idea for all teachers to incorporate mini lessons into larger lessons such as having your students turn and talk about a question or making a prediction with their peers.

I would recommend this fairytale book to all young readers, teachers, and fairytale lovers. It tells a unique story about a little boy overcoming a witches spell. I really enjoyed the plot line of this book because most young readers can relate to a time when they made a bad decision and had to turn it around. Throughout the book, Prince Bertram makes many bad decisions but by the end of the fairytale he learns from all his mistakes. Not only was this book entertaining, it also portrays a good lesson for young readers.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally published in 1963, this picture book still has plenty to recommend it, making me delighted that it's been reissued. While it features a royal behaving badly, clearly, there is a message for everyone in its pages. The birth of Prince Bertram is a happy occasion for the members of his kingdom, including the king and queen. But Prince Bertram is rude, cranky, and downright mean and destructive. His antics cause just about everyone to avoid him, and the disciplinary efforts of his father are useless. When he accidentally hits a witch while shooting at birds with his slingshot, she teaches him a lesson and turns him into a dragon. This changes everything, and his life becomes even lonelier after he runs away from home and starts living in the forest. But he has a chance for redemption when he stumbles upon that same witch who cast a spell on him and thaws her out with his fiery breath since she's frozen in the snow. I loved this little twist in the story since the witch rewards him and removes the spell. The illustrations, created with graphite, ink, and watercolor, are simply delightful, especially when Bertram is in his dragon form. Reading this picture book once again reminds me why some stories are simply classics while others quickly fade from memory.

[Hthr · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a silly book about a young prince, Bertram, who was born "bad". From the time he was a baby, up to childhood, he took delight in terrorizing people and animals alike. No matter what his parents did - including daily spankings - his behavior did not improve at all. After throwing a stone at a watch flying past on her broom, she transformed him into a small dragon. His parents could no longer allow him to live in the castle for fear that his breath would set fire to the curtains, and the townspeople laughed him all the way to the forest, where even the other animals wanted nothing to do with him. After living alone for many long months, he performed an act of kindness and was returned to his original state.

This book was cute as a one-time read; good for a book to borrow from the library but not one I'd add to our permanent collection at home. Good for early elementary-aged children.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book Ellie picks to read over and over. We love Arnold Lobel books. Jacob rated this 3 stars... 2/24/15

Ellie read for naptime..krb 3/17/16
Ellie read for us....krb 12/1/16

Ellie's pick for a read-a-loud...krb 5/8/17

[Alexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I would do for a reissue of this book...

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prince Bertram the Bad is a bully and a miniature tyrant. Mean-spirited, destructive and willfully malicious, he torments everyone around him. There’s no reason given for it. His mother and father, the queen and king, are very likable people. His father isn’t one who believes in sparing the rod, either. He spanks Bertram almost daily. But it does no good.

Bertram is cursed by a witch whom he inadvertently offends. Becoming a dragon (and an ugly little dragon at that), he sees everyone whom he has tormented come to the castle to laugh and jeer. Only performing a good deed restores him to his human form.

This book, over half a century old, remains timely because it deals with learning the consequences of your actions. Bertram doesn’t become a better person through corporeal punishment but through ostracization, the knowledge that being a prince doesn’t shield you from ridicule and that constant wretched behavior towards others can leave you very lonely.

The drawings have shading although the colors are subdued. The rendering of trees, e.g., are made with simple lines and cross-hatching but you notice that all the trees look different from each other. It’s not sophisticated illustration but it doesn’t need to be. This story tells us everything we need to know about the awful prince.

Parents, read this to your horrid children. Perhaps you might hint that there are witches about the place. If they believe in Harry Potter’s world, who’s to say that an errant sorceress might not turn them into toads when they’re naughty?

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of Arnold Lobel will be pleased to see the release of this 1963 favorite. This Henry Holt edition includes a note from his daughter about the story and has a different cover image than the original. This review will comment on the book as she would for any current picture book.

What to do with a prince who acts so badly that even a spanking does not good? You hope a witch comes along and turns him into a small, scaly dragon that the people in the kingdom will make fun of! Even when he runs away to the big forest, the animals think he is strange and will not play with him. One day in winter, he finds the witch stuck in a snowbank and as a reward, she restores him to princedom. The reader is left with the impression that he will be a nice prince in the future.

The illustrations, done in graphite and ink, are mostly black and white with watercolors, but are spacious and hold only the necessary details pertinent to the story. The medium-size, easy to read black font is balanced throughout the pages.

Told in a fairy tale style complete with a moral and castle and dragon, this would make a good read aloud for preschool and early elementary children. The reader could prompt a discussion about behavior and consequences, but the listeners are apt to easily discern the lesson through the humor.

[Simai Zhou · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is both an interesting and thought-provoking book. It's not just for kids. I think adults should read it too. This book is about a different little prince, he is very naughty. All the people in the country don't like him because he always plays tricks on others. One day when he dropped a witch from the sky with a stone, the witch changed the little prince into a scaly dinosaur. After the little prince experienced various hardships, he saved the witch who was buried in the snow. So the witch in order to repay the little prince for saving her life, she used magic to change the prince back to the original appearance. And she says even witches make mistakes. After reading this book, I thought for a long time. In our life, not only children make mistakes, sometimes adults also make mistakes. But everyone who has done something wrong deserves a chance to correct it. Instead of blaming someone when they make a mistake. Especially when we are dealing with children, we should give them patience and guide them to correct their mistakes. Rather than defining the child as a bad boy. Because everyone can make mistakes.

[Melynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nostalgia read. I had this book as a little kid. The art is still delightful. Published in the 60s, it depicts outdated ways of punishment such as spanking a child and by mocking and shunning a child bully. I remember liking the little dragon and the witch when I was a kid. Morality fairy tale to teach young kids it’s better to be good and helpful.

One of the lines I picked up on was the line that even witches make mistakes, when the witch turned the dragon back to a prince. An acknowledgment that adults also make mistakes is a more hidden lesson from the story.

[Rebecca Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations in this one, and kids will likely relate to Bertram who makes some bad choices but isn't bad all the way through. Although I recognize that spanking was more acceptable in the time period in which this book was written, it still bothers me and would keep me from reading it aloud.

[Sarah Limb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book! The illustrations are funny, and the story is short and sweet! The little prince was spoiled and disobedient, and then his perspective changed to help him be a better person. It might not be a perfect story with the perfect plot points, but it was sweet and I understand the meaning behind it all.

[Jolynne Dougherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fairy tale, change, naughty child - Prince Bertram is naughty and unkind. Nothing can stop him until he is mean to a witch. What follows is a lesson in empathy and redemption.

With a forward by Adrienne Lobel, she addresses the fact that her father, like the king, did give her a spanking, but it was very gently and with a mock stern expression that had her laughing and didn't really discipline her at all.

An enjoyable read that was a treat to discover from a favorite author.

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Smacking of C.S. Lewis' character Eustace (especially as featured in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader), a nasty boy is turned into a dragon and learns a life lesson about treating others with kindness.

Note: a witch performs the dragonification and later, its antidote spell. She seems to be a decent sort of person and is not scary (neither is the boy-dragon).

[Christine Hwang · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about a prince with bad habits and behaviors. Although I know picture books are supposed to have quick happy endings, I feel the story is unrealistic. If only, the bad behaviors of children could change this quickly.

[Min · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic story of a naughty boy so bad, no creature, and no person would go near him. One day, he angers a witch that curses him to be a dragon. He is lonely and goes off to the woods. Later, he rescues the witch and the curse is reversed. He is a good boy from then onward. The End.

[Grace Crust · Rating 2 out of 5]

This books art is a fun style but the story itself felt flat, rushed, and too forced. It focused too much on the moral lesson and the character development felt almost empty. It can be a fun one but as an adult, the quality of writing isn’t great.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prince Bertram was born mean and nothing could change him....or could someone..? Say a witch who he was rude to.... a lovely story I picked up at a library sale a few years ago. I like story's that have a moral and a changed heart.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reissue of one of Lobel's earlier books, orginally published in 1963.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love Lobel's illustrations of people in this one.

[Kathleen Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of my childhood favorites! My daughter found me a paperback copy. I love it!!!

[Megan Wagner · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story didn't age well?

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5

[Kami · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got everything from 3 to 5 from my kids on this. I wanted to rate it higher just because I love Arnold Lobel, but settled for 3.

[Diana Salazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb illustrations. I love a bad kid story. Highly recommended

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who can't relate to being the bad kid?

This evolved into an interesting discussion about punishments parents give kids. There were some who didn't know what spanking was (not surprising LOL)

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the time it was written, it captured the style of the era. Bertram is a spoiled kid until a witch turns him into a dragon. He learns a valuable lesson and changes his attitude and actions.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember this book fondly from my childhood, and my daughter enjoyed it last night when I pulled it out and read it to her.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The classic tale of Bertram, a prince with a bad attitude. He treat all with scorn and meanness. One day he hits a witch with a stone from his slingshot. Of course she's not happy about this. She turns Prince Bertam into a dragon.

Bertram quickly learns that a dragon's life is a very lonely life. No one will come anywhere near him. Finally he runs away into the forest. But none of the forest animals will play with him either. Bertram spends the winter in the forest, trying to keep himself warm with his own fire-breath.

One day, he runs across the witch, frozen upside down deep in the snow. He turns her right side up and defrosts her with his breath. Of course, she turns him back into a little boy. It would appear that Bertram has learned his lesson.

[Bec · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was haunted [insert less extreme word:] by an illustration in my head and I couldn't figure out what book it came from. A Multnomah County children's librarian helped me find this book based on my description of "gothic" and "lots of black." I think there is still a gothic image floating in my head, but I did read this book as a kid. It's a new take(circa 1963)on the fairy tale with a moral. I wish I had taken the message more to heart and been a good girl. Arnold Lobel is an esteemed author (Frog and Toad, Ming Lo Moves the Mountain), but this book seems to be one of his lesser enduring works (and harder to locate). I still like it.