What do you think?
Rate this book
LOL Adventures #1
The Prince and the Witch and the Thief and the Bears
An action-packed storytelling adventure that flips the traditional fairy tale on its head. When it’s time for Jamie’s bedtime story, his dad begins to tell an age-old fairy tale about a prince in a faraway land full of dragons, wolves and princesses in distress. Inquisitive Jamie can’t help but add to his dad’s story, and the prince is soon joined by an evil-eyed witch who turns people to jelly, a broccoli-wielding ninja frog and a jewel-thief, lock picking princess. It may not be the story Dad set out to tell, but together, he and Jamie create something much more energetic and hilarious than they could have alone.
40 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
About the author
Alastair Chisholm
91 books88 followersAlastair is an award-winning children's author and puzzle creator. He's the author of the sci-fi middle-grade adventures ORION LOST and ADAM-2 , and children's picture books THE PRINCE AND THE WITCH AND THE THIEF AND THE BEARS and INCH AND GRUB, as well as books of Sudoku, Kakuro and other puzzles, including the Kids' Book of Sudoku and Kids' Book of Kakuro series.
Alastair lives in Edinburgh with his wife (who is lovely), two children (who are lovely but very loud), and a cat who is yowling at him even though there is clearly food in her bowl, look, it’s right there, *look*.
You can follow him on Twitter at @alastair_ch
Alastair lives in Edinburgh with his wife (who is lovely), two children (who are lovely but very loud), and a cat who is yowling at him even though there is clearly food in her bowl, look, it’s right there, *look*.
You can follow him on Twitter at @alastair_ch
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
May 21, 2019
Book Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
One night Jamie asks his dad for a bedtime story, but he doesn’t want one read from a book though he wants his dad to use his imagination and make the story up. It must feature a prince, a witch, and some bears. His dad soon comes up with an idea but as he begins to tell Jamie his story Jamie keeps on interrupting him and asking questions, thus making the plot keep on changing.
This is a fantastic book about a father and his son sharing a bedtime story and also how imaginative his father is to come up with a brilliant, yet unusual story.
The plot actually reminded me of the movie ‘The Princess Bride’ where the granddad is reading to his sick grandson and the grandson keeps on disturbing the story and asking questions and wanting his granddad to change parts.
It was so lovely to watch Jamie go through different emotions as his dad made his story up and then to see him not impressed with parts and wanting them changed, such as why is it always the princess that needs saving, why can’t the prince need saving!
I adored this book and I can see children loving the plot and the full-page colourful illustrations that bring Jamie’s dads story to life. Just be ready for your children to want you to make a story up too.
One night Jamie asks his dad for a bedtime story, but he doesn’t want one read from a book though he wants his dad to use his imagination and make the story up. It must feature a prince, a witch, and some bears. His dad soon comes up with an idea but as he begins to tell Jamie his story Jamie keeps on interrupting him and asking questions, thus making the plot keep on changing.
This is a fantastic book about a father and his son sharing a bedtime story and also how imaginative his father is to come up with a brilliant, yet unusual story.
The plot actually reminded me of the movie ‘The Princess Bride’ where the granddad is reading to his sick grandson and the grandson keeps on disturbing the story and asking questions and wanting his granddad to change parts.
It was so lovely to watch Jamie go through different emotions as his dad made his story up and then to see him not impressed with parts and wanting them changed, such as why is it always the princess that needs saving, why can’t the prince need saving!
I adored this book and I can see children loving the plot and the full-page colourful illustrations that bring Jamie’s dads story to life. Just be ready for your children to want you to make a story up too.
October 2, 2019
A dad and his kid, Jamie, share an imaginative, adventurous bedtime story involving a prince (princess...no, wait, prince) and a princess and a witch ninja whose best friends is a tiny frog. Plus some bears and the terrifying Castle Broccoli.
This is how I think I look when I'm fighting.
This is how I think I look when I'm fighting.
October 22, 2019
This book made me laugh so much and will be fun for both adults and kids to read! A little bigger than A4 in size ‘The Prince and the Witch and the Thief and the Bears’ is a paperback with thick glossy pages of colourful illustrations and text. The story centres around Jamie, a boy who wants a bed time story told to him, a made-up one. His dad begins to tell the story but Jamie keeps asking questions and wants things added, or changed and so his dad keeps chaing the story with hilarious results.
The idea of this story is so simple and many adults can relate to making up a story for their kids at bedtime, but like many children do, Jamie questions almost everything. For example, he asks why the Prince is rescuing the Princess and not the other way around, so his dad changes the story and we see the Princess ready to ride away to rescue the Prince…until Jamie says he preferred it the other way afterall! Every change that’s made to the story has a coresponding illustration so the story, with all its quirks and changes, really does come to life and can be seen by kids reading this picture book. Some of the story changes are very funny or silly and the whole story has a great twist at the end.
The illustrations really make this book funny. It’s through these illustrations that we get to see how the story changes and all the additional things that are added to it. The pictures are all quite simple and very colourful and their style just makes this all the more funny to read, the characters (eve nthe horse) all have fun expressions which make the story much funnier to read. The conversation throughout is funny too with Jamie’s dad trying to constantly change and please his son with the new twists.
I really enjoyed reading this book just because it’s very funny. I like the twist towards the end where Jamie doesn’t like the ending and so his dad has to add an entirely new ending to the story. I also love the last picture in the book which is funny and shows the characters essentially ‘stuck’ until tomorrow’s continuation of the tale! I think so many kids will enjoy the silly story and illustrations and I like the fact that the typical ending of a fairytale is turned on its head with Jamie’s feelings towards it. I think this book will be enjoyed by a lot of kids but also by lots of adults who will certainly relate to trying to come up with an acceptable story for their kids enquiring minds.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.
The idea of this story is so simple and many adults can relate to making up a story for their kids at bedtime, but like many children do, Jamie questions almost everything. For example, he asks why the Prince is rescuing the Princess and not the other way around, so his dad changes the story and we see the Princess ready to ride away to rescue the Prince…until Jamie says he preferred it the other way afterall! Every change that’s made to the story has a coresponding illustration so the story, with all its quirks and changes, really does come to life and can be seen by kids reading this picture book. Some of the story changes are very funny or silly and the whole story has a great twist at the end.
The illustrations really make this book funny. It’s through these illustrations that we get to see how the story changes and all the additional things that are added to it. The pictures are all quite simple and very colourful and their style just makes this all the more funny to read, the characters (eve nthe horse) all have fun expressions which make the story much funnier to read. The conversation throughout is funny too with Jamie’s dad trying to constantly change and please his son with the new twists.
I really enjoyed reading this book just because it’s very funny. I like the twist towards the end where Jamie doesn’t like the ending and so his dad has to add an entirely new ending to the story. I also love the last picture in the book which is funny and shows the characters essentially ‘stuck’ until tomorrow’s continuation of the tale! I think so many kids will enjoy the silly story and illustrations and I like the fact that the typical ending of a fairytale is turned on its head with Jamie’s feelings towards it. I think this book will be enjoyed by a lot of kids but also by lots of adults who will certainly relate to trying to come up with an acceptable story for their kids enquiring minds.
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy for review.
August 25, 2020
BRO this book RULES. I read it to Marg (4 yo.) and it’s so funny because she interrupts me just like the kid in the book interrupts his dad, so it’s very meta. And any book that has the word “rubbish” in it gets 5 stars.
April 7, 2020
This was good fun - I wasn't really expecting much from this one, but it's a pretty entertaining read, and my kid thought it was hilarious every time the boy in the story butted in and made his dad edit the tale, which was roughly every five seconds.
July 13, 2020
This book made me giggle as I was reading it, and I'm excited to give it to the nephew. It is adorable and has major Princess Bride vibes as it follows a dad making up a bedtime story for his son, who interrupts throughout with questions and commentary. It's cute and fun and creative.
November 30, 2019
Awesome. Loved that the child helped tell the story and Dad just kept adapting!
May 21, 2021
This is honestly really cute.
June 2, 2019
This wonderful tale of a Dad telling creating a tailor-made bedtime story to his little boy, while the little boy joins in adding his own details is a pure delight. A brilliantly wild adventure ensues with laugh-out-loud funny, completely unexpected twists and turns and creative characters that will stay with you. The string, bright illustrations are chock full of detail and perfectly project the story, bringing it to life. You may think this book too exciting for bedtime, but fear not!. It winds down to a touching scene of Dad tucking a very sleepy Jamie in as he doses off dreaming of the next adventure to be had at Castle Broccoli. A funny, exciting, pitch-perfect and cosy tale that warms the heart and fires the imagination.
September 17, 2018
A bed time story between father and son. A story that keeps getting interrupted by question after question. But the questions are patiently answered by the father.
Even though the father finishes the story to his son, he gets asked another question about the... and the father replies that we find out them tomorrow night. I really want to know.
The witch and her best friend are my favourite characters.
Even though the father finishes the story to his son, he gets asked another question about the... and the father replies that we find out them tomorrow night. I really want to know.
The witch and her best friend are my favourite characters.
March 29, 2021
3 1/2 stars
This is not exactly a calming bedtime story; much is happening here! The cast of characters (prince, witch, princess/thief, and assorted others) is doing plenty and the action is non-stop. Vivid pictures complement the story. Do not expect the usual fairy tale. I felt tired after reading it though Mister was bouncing around and asking for another. Yikes.
This is not exactly a calming bedtime story; much is happening here! The cast of characters (prince, witch, princess/thief, and assorted others) is doing plenty and the action is non-stop. Vivid pictures complement the story. Do not expect the usual fairy tale. I felt tired after reading it though Mister was bouncing around and asking for another. Yikes.
November 28, 2022
J'ai trouvé cet album jeunesse écossais fort amusant et ce d'autant plus qu'il malmène les stéréotypes de contes.
Un soir, peu avant l'heure du dodo, Jacob réclame une histoire inventée à son père comprenant "un prince, des ours, une sorcière et une princesse". Nous suivons donc un prince - très brièvement une chevalière - qui doit aller libérer une princesse dans un château en forme de brocoli en entouré d'ours. Et en réponse au "pourquoi la sorcière a-t-elle enlevé la princesse", le papa de Jacob répond qu'en fait, le prince s'est moqué de l'amie grenouille de la sorcière et qu'en réponse à cet affront, la sorcière a enlevé la demoiselle pour se venger. Mais la sorcière est aussi une ninja! Et la princesse est aussi une fine voleuse de bijoux! Et au final, tout le monde sauve tout le monde...mais ils sont toujours entourés d'ours.
C'est pratiquement impossible de ne pas rire et de se laissé attendrir par ces personnages loufoques. J'ai bien aimé cette sorcière ninja et son adorable grenouille dans sa poche, définitivement le meilleur duo du livre!
Cependant, ce qui m'a véritablement plu est le fait que le prince soit à l'origine de tout ce bazar. S'il ne s'était pas moqué aussi gratuitement de la petite grenouille, la sorcière n'aurait pas chercher à venger son amie. Traditionnellement, la sorcière tient souvent le rôle de la méchante, que ce soit par pure mesquinerie ou par jalousie de la princesse, alors merci pour avoir déchargé la vieille femme de ce rôle ingrat et de le refourguer au prince, pour une fois! La princesse aussi tient un double rôle, avec celui de la voleuse et elle est celle qui sauve la sorcière de la mort ( ou du moins d'une sérieuse chute). On a même brièvement une chevalière ( quoique toute en fleurs et en rose, on repassera pour le stéréotype, là c'est plutôt raté).
Ce château en forme de brocoli aussi était amusant, différent du manoir tout en noir et en tourelles de d'habitude. Et le pouvoir de la gelée rose, en voilà une idée!
Bref, c'est un album plutôt créatif, drôle, déjanté et proposant quelques nouveaux archétypes de personnages, sans toutefois sortir totalement des sentiers battus. Mais c'est une pas dans la bonne direction. Aussi, l'aspect narratif est très dynamique, ponctué d'ajouts, de modifications, d'ajustements ou de commentaires de la part de l'un ou l'autre des deux narrateurs.
Le dessin est également dynamique, tout en couleurs vives et les expressions faciales sont faciles à décoder.
Je conclus en soulignant que c'est le papa qui tiens la vedette dans cette histoire, et qu'il est bon de rappeler le rôle parental de ce dernier, surtout dans les livres jeunesse.
Catégorisation: Album fiction ( Merveilleux/Univers Conte), littérature jeunesse préscolaire, 4-5 ans
Note; 8/10
Un soir, peu avant l'heure du dodo, Jacob réclame une histoire inventée à son père comprenant "un prince, des ours, une sorcière et une princesse". Nous suivons donc un prince - très brièvement une chevalière - qui doit aller libérer une princesse dans un château en forme de brocoli en entouré d'ours. Et en réponse au "pourquoi la sorcière a-t-elle enlevé la princesse", le papa de Jacob répond qu'en fait, le prince s'est moqué de l'amie grenouille de la sorcière et qu'en réponse à cet affront, la sorcière a enlevé la demoiselle pour se venger. Mais la sorcière est aussi une ninja! Et la princesse est aussi une fine voleuse de bijoux! Et au final, tout le monde sauve tout le monde...mais ils sont toujours entourés d'ours.
C'est pratiquement impossible de ne pas rire et de se laissé attendrir par ces personnages loufoques. J'ai bien aimé cette sorcière ninja et son adorable grenouille dans sa poche, définitivement le meilleur duo du livre!
Cependant, ce qui m'a véritablement plu est le fait que le prince soit à l'origine de tout ce bazar. S'il ne s'était pas moqué aussi gratuitement de la petite grenouille, la sorcière n'aurait pas chercher à venger son amie. Traditionnellement, la sorcière tient souvent le rôle de la méchante, que ce soit par pure mesquinerie ou par jalousie de la princesse, alors merci pour avoir déchargé la vieille femme de ce rôle ingrat et de le refourguer au prince, pour une fois! La princesse aussi tient un double rôle, avec celui de la voleuse et elle est celle qui sauve la sorcière de la mort ( ou du moins d'une sérieuse chute). On a même brièvement une chevalière ( quoique toute en fleurs et en rose, on repassera pour le stéréotype, là c'est plutôt raté).
Ce château en forme de brocoli aussi était amusant, différent du manoir tout en noir et en tourelles de d'habitude. Et le pouvoir de la gelée rose, en voilà une idée!
Bref, c'est un album plutôt créatif, drôle, déjanté et proposant quelques nouveaux archétypes de personnages, sans toutefois sortir totalement des sentiers battus. Mais c'est une pas dans la bonne direction. Aussi, l'aspect narratif est très dynamique, ponctué d'ajouts, de modifications, d'ajustements ou de commentaires de la part de l'un ou l'autre des deux narrateurs.
Le dessin est également dynamique, tout en couleurs vives et les expressions faciales sont faciles à décoder.
Je conclus en soulignant que c'est le papa qui tiens la vedette dans cette histoire, et qu'il est bon de rappeler le rôle parental de ce dernier, surtout dans les livres jeunesse.
Catégorisation: Album fiction ( Merveilleux/Univers Conte), littérature jeunesse préscolaire, 4-5 ans
Note; 8/10
January 13, 2020
Update: I've now been induced to read it at least a dozen times and it's definitely growing on me. The illustrations are seriously cute and I'm finally getting subtext jokes that i think i missed... either that or I'm just going a bit senile ...
Original comments:
Our boys loved this one - the three year old kept asking and asking for it for weeks after we last returned it to the library. That is very unusual, i think it's the first time he's asked for a book from memory and not just because he saw it.
The concept is very cute - it's a dad telling his son a bedtime story, making it up (and changing their minds) as they go. This and the illustrations make it a pretty good book; my only complaints would be that the interruptions to the story and the "he said" / "said dad" narration gets a little bit confusing in places. On top of that, the story itself is a bit ordinary. There isn't much courage or anything good highlighted in the characters, and we don't learn anything from them; this works well with the concept of the book, which is walking through making up stories with your little kids and fostering imagination. Stories made up off the cuff like this don't have to be wonderful; they can twist and turn, not make sense and that's okay.
I [originally] took a star off for re-readability anyway though because while the concept and execution is pretty good, as a parent this story is annoying to read. Once you have got the concepts and registered the positive interaction between father and son, the story doesn't develop the characters into people that you wonder about or relate to.
Original comments:
Our boys loved this one - the three year old kept asking and asking for it for weeks after we last returned it to the library. That is very unusual, i think it's the first time he's asked for a book from memory and not just because he saw it.
The concept is very cute - it's a dad telling his son a bedtime story, making it up (and changing their minds) as they go. This and the illustrations make it a pretty good book; my only complaints would be that the interruptions to the story and the "he said" / "said dad" narration gets a little bit confusing in places. On top of that, the story itself is a bit ordinary. There isn't much courage or anything good highlighted in the characters, and we don't learn anything from them; this works well with the concept of the book, which is walking through making up stories with your little kids and fostering imagination. Stories made up off the cuff like this don't have to be wonderful; they can twist and turn, not make sense and that's okay.
I [originally] took a star off for re-readability anyway though because while the concept and execution is pretty good, as a parent this story is annoying to read. Once you have got the concepts and registered the positive interaction between father and son, the story doesn't develop the characters into people that you wonder about or relate to.
August 1, 2025
Summary (if you care about spoilers for children's books, skip to the next section)
Dad is tucking Jamie in. Jamie asks for a made up story. Dad starts a classic story about a valliant prince that becomes more and more outlandish as Jamie adds fun little twists, like a witch whose evil eye could turn people into jelly and a dark horrible castle named Broccoli.
Illustrations
The illustrations are super cute
Fun factor
SO fun, I found myself chuckling more than once
Is it supposed to teach children something?
Not really. But I really appreciated that it was the dad tucking his son in and telling him a bedtime story, it seems like it's always the mom in SO many books.
Bottom line
Loved it. Recommend if you're looking for a fun read.
Dad is tucking Jamie in. Jamie asks for a made up story. Dad starts a classic story about a valliant prince that becomes more and more outlandish as Jamie adds fun little twists, like a witch whose evil eye could turn people into jelly and a dark horrible castle named Broccoli.
Illustrations
The illustrations are super cute
Fun factor
SO fun, I found myself chuckling more than once
Is it supposed to teach children something?
Not really. But I really appreciated that it was the dad tucking his son in and telling him a bedtime story, it seems like it's always the mom in SO many books.
Bottom line
Loved it. Recommend if you're looking for a fun read.
January 20, 2024
This is a family favorite, especially for my 7 year old. He almost always grabs this book or of the companion books in the series. Being the first published, we’ve had this one the longest and have it memorized. My son’s favorite part is when Jamie talks about hating broccoli. One of the only non processed foods my son has always liked happens to be broccoli. He makes up his own least favorite food to change up the story Jamie style.
April 29, 2020
We loved this book! It’s a cute story about a made up bedtime story by a child and the child’s dad. It has all the good components of a story: a prince, a which, a thief, and bears! Super cute story!
September 27, 2020
Fun and adorable bedtime story about a dad inventing a bedtime story for his son. The father listens to all his son's interruptions and answers all his questions and they collaborate to make the story even better! Loved the art in this one.
December 27, 2020
Got this for my daughter for Christmas and have already read it to her 6 times! Each time we laugh and point out new things in the illustrations! Best kids book we have read in a long time! Can't wait to read all about the Valiant Ninja Frog!
May 26, 2021
Oh my goodness, I love made up stories so much. This is about a dad telling a story to a little boy and they are making it up as they go. My favorite is at the end when he says, "I didn't want the witch to fall off the cliff, I liked the witch." Well, of course.
June 7, 2021
A wonderful ode to the telling of bedtime stories, this is all about children's creative open minds and their innate love of stories.
Jamie helps his dad dream up a truly original fairytale full of fun and thrills. A fab little tribute to the brilliance of a child's imagination!
Jamie helps his dad dream up a truly original fairytale full of fun and thrills. A fab little tribute to the brilliance of a child's imagination!
April 21, 2022
A picture book with strong The Princess Bride vibes, this wacky tale is hilariously entertaining from beginning to end. The artwork is eyecatching and fun, perfectly matching the story. I loved this so much I'm buying several copies to give as gifts.
March 28, 2023
Good for humor, for father-son bonding, for matter-of-fact non-white representation. Excellent for my favorite theme, Another Point of View. Slightly oversize. I, personally, didn't love it quite four stars but am rounding up for reasons.
November 2, 2018
Sweet, funny, engaging, and wonderful bright illustrations.
April 14, 2019
Sons favorite part wS the Broccoli cast,e and turning things to jello.
October 25, 2019
Very funny book! Fun to read over and over. My kids are 5,6, and 9 and all three love this one.
February 22, 2020
A storytime for a dad and his son gets made up on the fly, with surprising and hilarious results. A great bedtime or anytime read.
July 24, 2020
Kids love it, and they like to to imagine what the bears story will be...
July 27, 2020
Absolutely a must read book. My husband and I laughed all the way through it when we first saw it. The grandkids want to read it all the time!
September 19, 2020
Entertaining little story about a boy and his dad creatively connecting through a bedtime story. Worth getting !
November 14, 2020
Super fun story about bedtime.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews