Catalina and the King's Wall

by Patty Costello, Diana Cojocaru (Illustrator)

Children's picture book; pre-sale starts January 20th, 2018

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2018

Reviews

[Lynda Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The king wants to build a wall between his kingdom and the neighboring kingdom where Catalina’s family lives. Fearing she will never see them again, Catalina comes up with a plan to thwart the king’s plan.

The text flows beautifully and is full of humorous puns, alliteration, and onomatopoeia, while the accompanying watercolor illustrations by Diane Cojocaru are simply gorgeous. On the surface, this is a simple picture book, but it contains commentary on the current political climate. With these varying elements, this story is sure to appeal to children and adults alike.

I received this book in return for an honest review.

Full blog post (7 May): https://booksdirectonline.blogspot.co...

[Melissa (thereaderandthechef) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a cute book and very relevant to our times. It's basically about a gluttonous king intent on building a wall to keep away people from the neighboring kingdom and how the king's talented baker strikes up a plan so her family can keep visiting her (they live in the other kingdom). ;)

The illustrations are adorable and go extremely well with the story. Children and parents (as well as fans of picture books) will certainly come to enjoy Catalina and the King's Wall!

[Jane Wilson-Howarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is hilarious - delightful, and thought provoking; I feel sure that parents and children alike will love this book. And it also give parent and child to discuss racism and justice if that's the ways the family's cookies crumble.
The tale describes a self-obsessed king who likes to pamper and indulge himself and wants to build a wall to keep out other kinds of people? Now who does this remind you of??

[Tonja Drecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Through a fantastical story and loving illustrations, this fairy tale gently touches a topic important in today's world.

Catalina loves to bake. Even the King enjoys her treats. One day, she over-hears his plans to build a wall between his and another kingdom. Unfortunately, this means that Catalina will have more trouble visiting her family, who resides in the other kingdom. Maybe she'll never see them again. So she devises a plan.

I love the fairy tale atmosphere in this book, which reminds more of the traditional tales. Catalina has a wonderful hobby and is very satisfied with her life. Her only regret is not being able to visit her family more often, since they live in the neighboring kingdom. When she meets the King, he never comes across as evil despite his silly thoughts. He comes across as being simply misguided in his own way. There's a warmth to the tale even when Catalina does her best to come up with various ways to work against the King's wall. There's a definite determination to Catalina's actions, but she never is unkind in how she handles things, nor is the author unkind to the King and how he's presented. In other words, it's a masterfully woven balance.

Catalina's plans are very unique and fit well to the intended age group. There are a few small logical areas which made my kids wonder, but nothing which hurt the flow of the story. Catalina's attempted solutions are imaginative and fantastical, bordering on their own form of magic.

The illustrations are done with a very personal touch and much love. The colors are bright, and it's easy to follow the story just through the pictures. The text is only a few lines on each page, and fitting for the intended age group. Depending on the background, the words are sometimes placed in a white rectangular area of their own, while other times, are directly on the illustration. While reading the book aloud, this distracted a little (not sure why.) But the tale does make a great bedtime read or is great for a quick story time during the afternoon. Even kids who are a little more sure of reading on their own will enjoy picking it up.

While subtle, the message rings clear and nestles in perfectly with the concerns of racism in today's society. Although this is a cute fairy tale, it also is a gentle way to open up a discussion with children about how they view people of different races.

I received a complimentary copy and enjoyed it enough to leave a review.

[Lindsey Lawntea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the publisher/author to review. I did not receive any compensation for this review, and all thoughts contained within are entirely my own.

Catalina lives in a “not-so-faraway Kingdom” where the King believes that he should build a wall to keep the “different” people in the neighboring Kingdom out.

This is an apt allusion for what’s going on in our lives today which includes many features adults will easily be able to recognize - (*cough*Trump’s border wall*cough*) - but imaginative enough to not frighten younger children. The characterization of the King is one many adults will easily be able to recognize and laugh at - he has a playroom, he’s tinted orange, and he complains about everything - the only additional touch that could have been added to this medieval representation would have been to have him deliver messenger pigeons across the kingdom with his complaints (“tweets” *wink wink*).

Catalina, the brave baker, proves any ordinary citizen, even a child, can stand up to a tyrant (a la Cards Against Humanity’s “blank border wall” protest - if you haven’t heard of it, you should definitely look that up!).

The art is comprised of colorful watercolor images, and calls to mind that of classic children’s books. The baking puns are the icing on the cake ;)

I love that Patty Costello is writing books to help inspire readers to change the world for the better, and I would be more than happy to read and review any and everything else she writes in the future.

[Isabel (The Reader & The Chef) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaaaah, such a charming children's book! I love the illustrations and the story plot is amusing! It is about a baker, named Catalina, that is troubled by a gluttonous king that wants to build a wall because he cannot stand the neighboring kingdom. Catalina is worried since her family lives in the other kingdom so she starts plotting to ruin the plans for the king with the help of her baking talents.
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Such a lovely book! So close to reality inside an endearing and likable story. A solid 5 star book for me!!!!
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Full review coming next week!

[Shalini Cutchin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catalina and the King's Wall is a modern day allegory that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. Adults will recognize the political implications; children will love the sweet story of a hard working girl who just wants to see her family. Catalina, the baker, is brilliantly characterized as creative, loving, and inclusive. She is kind but also knows when to take a stand to oppose those who cause harm. Patty Costello's writing and clever wordplays will appeal to children and parents. The artwork by Diane Cojocaru is beautiful.

[Andrea Bearden · Rating 4 out of 5]

E-ARC provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. This is a very cute story with good insight as well. The King wants to build a wall to keep out the neighboring kindgom but then Catalina would be separated from her family. So Catalina uses the King's gluttonous ways against him and in the end Catalina gets to stay with her family and the King's wall fails.

[Heather Herzog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catalina and the Kings Wall captures the many forces at work in today’s political climate in a simple, sweet, lyrical story.

Metaphors abound in this beautifully illustrated fairytale. Young children will love the colorful, sumptuous illustrations and delicious descriptions of baking and sugary treats. Older kids and grown-ups will equally enjoy the whimsical quality of this picture book’s prose along with its lively puns and metaphors for inclusion and protecting a more diverse world.

I highly recommend this book for families who want a gentle, joyful way to approach discussions of diversity, while having loads of fun!

[Fyre.Katz · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://fkrants.blogspot.com/2018/05/c...

Oh this story is cute, and the artwork is interesting. A story about a girl that misses her family and a king who doesn't like people from the other town but his stomach turns the table in the end... I mean who doesn't love cookies! Pretty cute story in which I'll pass it to a friend who has a child. :)

[Stephanie P (Because My Mother Read) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review. I liked the idea behind the book, but I didn't feel like the execution fully lived up to it.  The illustrations were bright and fun and I enjoyed the baking aspects, but some things in the story line just felt disjointed to me.  My 5 year old son really enjoyed it though.  We had several books for review that we read at the same time and he said this one was his favorite and he asked to reread it.

[Liz P · Rating 5 out of 5]

When my 5-year-old son picked this up at the library to read, I was wondering if it would be worth the read. Yes, the baking puns are cheesy at times but the story as a whole is a good way to bring up current events with young children. I was quickly able to read between the lines on this one and might I say, the author is freakin' clever and hilarious but in a tasteful way ;) Well played, Patty Costello. Notice that Time Magazine cover on the wall of his bedroom and the toy room with Russian nesting dolls. This gluttonous king sure sounds familiar. In all seriousness, this book is beautifully illustrated and carries a very important message. Let us not forget the mouse. My son had a great time finding the mouse on each page. I highly recommend this book. I do not give out 5-star reviews unless I truly feel the book was exceptional. The message of inclusion and acceptance is very important and this book does a great job showing this to younger kids.

[Robin Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a print copy of this book from the publisher through an Early Reviewer’s giveaway they had on LibraryThing and the following is my honest opinion.

How many times have you allowed your inner-child to read one of your daughter’s book so you can enjoy reading it yourself? I say daughter because I feel that given the main character is a girl and involves baking that boys might not be interested in reading it. Being a Book Reviewer, as well as an author, I love allowing my inner-child to read children’s book for the sweet, simplistic storylines they contain as a break from reading the adult sometimes emotional books I usually read.

Catalina who has a passion for baking has gotten a job as the baker for the king of a neighboring kingdom. One day the king, forgetting about Catalina, gets the notion he doesn’t like the people living there simply because they’re different and starts ranting about this, saying he must build a wall to keep them out. Hearing this she becomes fearful about not being able to ever see her parents again and decides to see about curtailing the king’s plans. Gaining the king’s confidence, she gives him several ideas of what to build the wall out of; needless to say, since all of her ideas involved things she used in baking, they all failed. To paraphrase the saying about the way to a man’s heart is his stomach, the way to the king’s mind is his stomach, her last idea was to make the wall out of her mother’s favorite cookie dough recipe. As the king examines the wall a rain storm comes along causing part of it to fly off and hit his head. It is at this point Catalina shrewdly suggests he should taste it. The instant the gluttonous king takes one bit, he’s hooked, and before long he winds up eating the entire wall and has eaten so much he can’t move and decides to leave things the wall they are, thus allowing Catalina’s parents to visit her.

The moment my inner-child read about the king’s idea to build a wall simply because he didn’t like the people living in the neighboring kingdom, my adult mind took over because of the political implications it’s referencing today. Building a massive wall to keep certain individuals out because they’re not wanted with the mere idea of them being here is unfathomable. The book doesn’t take any side in this matter other than that there are far more important things which needs to be handle, like the king in this story getting better should take precedence over everything else.

For having given her young readers a charming story about a girl wanting to always being able to see her parents, and their parents a politically story about the current state of affairs in the United States, I’ve given Ms. Costello 5 STARS for her endeavor her.

[Bri (readingknitter) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Catalina and the King's Wall is full of BEAUTIFUL illustrations that you and a child can look at for several minutes to point out all of the amazing intricacies. While I did enjoy this book overall, I thought the second half of the book felt stronger and more ready for a young reader. The first half of the picture book introduced many baking terms without illustrations modeling the verbs, which might be difficult for a young reader to comprehend. The tale includes a message against building a wall to separate two lands and potential family members, but could have spent a little more space highlighting why this is cruel to clarify the message for a young reader. However, I can also understand why a message like this might be intentionally vague. All that considered, I don't have kids, so maybe I'm a little out of touch.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a digital copy of this book for free from the author (Patty Costello) via email. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and have not been influenced by the author.

For more reviews, check out www.girlwithabookblog.com!

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The colorful illustrations in Catalina and the King’s Wall were vibrant and interesting along with this symbolic story of walls. The King wants to wall off his kingdom from neighbors, but the baker Catalina is from a nearby kingdom and awaits her family’s visit. If the wall is built, they will not be able to come. Catalina comes up with ideas of using baking ingredients and treats as the building materials for the wall, knowing they will not last, and so she can buy extra time for her family to come visit. In the end, the King’s greedy desire to eat too much of a cookie wall makes his plan ineffective.

The book is an astute nod to political situations happening in the US, and other countries, regarding possible effects on families and loved ones when they are separated by walls, whether literal or symbolic. A very young child may not grasp that without a grown up comparing, but they will surely enjoy the idea of building walls out of yummy treats and what happens to them if they get wet or…eaten!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patty Costello has come up with acute story for kids. From small Children to about the age of 8 would enjoy this story. The words used are easy to semi easy so would be great for young readers. Diane Cojocaru has done an awesome job with illustrations. They are vibrant and bright and very engaging to the kids. Our youngest child enjoyed flipping through the pages, even after we read the book.

This is a cute story for kids. The King doesn't like the people outside of his Kingdom and decides that to build a wall around it to keep everyone else out. His Baker Catalina over hears this. Her family lives outside of the Kingdom and she will never be able to see them again if the king gets his way.

Catalina comes up with a way to build a wall that will not last, hoping the King will eventually change his mind. First she offers icing, then sprinkles, then cookie dough. In the end the King does change his mind and Catalina is able to see her family.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher to read and review. The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catalina and the King's Wall is a charming tale complete with beautifully detailed watercolor illustrations that will captivate readers.

Catalina loves to bake and her delicious treats delight the King. One day when Catalina is delivering her goodies she overhears the King's plan to build a wall between his kingdom and the next. Devastated that she would be unable to see her parents Catalina comes up with a plan, but will it work?

Although most children won't make the connection on their own, the story addresses current US events in a gentle non-threatening way. I believe young readers will find humor in Catalina's antics to outsmart the King and the King's overindulgence of sweets. Children will easily understand the story's message about the importance of family and delight in Catalina's reunion with hers.

Catalina and the King's Wall is well written with amazing illustrations that bring the book to life.

I recommend picking up a copy.

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really appreciated what I believe was the intent of this book's message, that "building a wall" simply because we perceive others as "different" is wrong, and causes us to ignore the ways in which the people around us are connected.

I also liked the colorful illustrations and the way the characters were drawn to stand out from the scenery.

Having said that, the story itself didn't quite do it for me overall. The characters were somewhat flat, the king too buffoonish to take seriously unless this was pure satire, and the occasional baking pun didn't really help either. I guess this particular blend of serious and silly seemed off-putting at times. Not bad, just not one I'd consider a classic, as much as I'd like to.

(In compliance with FTC guidelines, I disclose that I received this book for free through LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I was not required to write a positive review.)

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catalina and the King's Wall will definitely strike a chord with the adults as it's about a king who wants to build a wall to keep out people from the bordering nations. Catalina's parents will be kept from visiting her if that happens! Since Catalina is the cook with access to the kitchen, she offers to build a wall made of pastry goods, which soon melt or are blown away. That is, until she makes a wall out of cookie dough. (spoiler alert) The king loves it, it keeps everybody out until he takes a bite, and then another. He eats his own wall, and the parents can cross over and visit Catalina. For children, the book is a charming look at a silly king being bossy for nothing, and they will enjoy it as much as the adults.

[kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of The children’s book, Catalina and the King’s Wall

What a clever way of telling a story to teach a lesson! Who doesn’t like cookies and baked goodies! I like the idea of this king who wants to build this wall yet Catalina is very smart in her approach to this predicament. Her family is on the other side of the wall and she misses them. She does some baking and it doesn’t hold up very well until the very end when she uses her mother’s favorite recipe. She asked the king to try some of it and he ends up eating a hole in the wall! I love this story! The artwork was very sweet!

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

In CATALINA AND THE KING'S WALL, a greedy and gluttonous king wants to build a wall to keep out neighboring villagers. But his head baker is a young girl who fears her family would be shut out by the wall. The smart young girl outwits the king by convincing him to build the wall out of something he can't resist: cookie dough.

This story about inclusion is an obvious reference to current events for older readers. For younger readers, it's a fun story about a silly, lazy king with silly, lazy ideas. The book features diverse characters being welcomed into the kingdom once Catalina foils the king for good.

[Kenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Catalina and the King’s Wall is a sweet story (pun intended!) about tolerance and kindness. Catalina is a master of resourcefulness and cleverly helps the king build walls that can be readily breached (or eaten!) so that those who are considered outsiders, like Catalina's family, have the freedom to visit the kingdom.

Colorful illustrations, Catalina’s fun quips, and the fantasy of a wall made of icing or sprinkles or cookies keep the reader engaged with each turning page, fortifying the story’s meaningful and timely message about facing controversy with sweetness.

[Laura Roettiger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lovely tale showing how kindness and creativity can triumph over selfishness and greed. The illustrations are lovely but the story is truly charming. It’s a timeless and timely tale of a king who wants to build a wall to keep out people from other lands and his baker, Catalina who wants to see her family.

[What's a Kid to Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fantastic and timely story of a king who wants to build a wall to keep out people he doesn't like. Catalina, who wants to be able to see her family, comes up with clever ways to build walls that won't last. A great read for kids and adults alike! The story is light hearted and it can spark some wonderful conversations with our young readers.

[Alyssa Dahlberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. I liked this book it was very cool. I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. It's a nice book with a good ending. I really liked Catalina and her role in the story.

[Kate Talbot · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heartwarming story that explores an important and currently political topic, in an approachable manner. Written as a fairytale and coupled with lovely illustrations, it’s a great book for opening up conversations with younger kids.

[Jan Milusich · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clever Fable for the present day! Children will enjoy the beautiful illustrations and alliterations and adults will enjoy the tongue in cheek parody.

[Mara Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not so Great

This was a quick read but not as good of a story. The metaphor of the baker and king is illy developed.

[Davianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the colorful and vivid illustrations and the story itself was good. But I kinda got this feeling that the book was more about real life events rather than a made-up fairy tale. I liked the book and the author's writing style, but I just don't think it's cool to bash on someone using a kids' picture book.
Rating: 2.5 stars
FTC DISCLAIMER: I received this book in exchange for an honest review

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who says cookies don’t solve problems? In a fairy tale that speaks to present-day events, a king decides he doesn’t like the people in a neighboring kingdom and plans to build a wall that will keep them out. Catalina, the king’s baker, has family in the neighboring kingdom and is upset by the news, but she’s got a plan. The king loves her delicious snacks, so she encourages him to build a wall using ingredients like icing, sprinkles, and cookie dough. The first two wash away, but that cookie dough holds fast – until the king finds it irresistible, and eats his way through the whole wall! Catalina cheerfully reunites with her family, and the king never bothers anyone ever again.

Catalina was fully funded through a Kickstarter earlier this year and published earlier this month, and it’s a smart, tongue-in-cheek fairy tale that makes explaining what kids are seeing on the news a little easier to understand. At once parody and social commentary, adults will get subtle winks at lines like, “The king’s face turned from orange to red” and at the king’s framed Time magazine photo in his royal chambers (hey… did he really make the cover of Time?). We’ve got a king obsessed with having his will carried out, and a bright heroine who figures out how to work around his myopia. The watercolor artwork is colorful and bright; the king is not orange-skinned, but does wear orange hose and has a suspiciously familiar curl to the back of his blonde hair; Catalina’s mother wears a hijab.