The King Who Tried to Fry an Egg on His Head

by Mirra Ginsburg

After marrying his three daughters off to the Sun, Moon, and Raven, the foolish King tries to emulate the special talents of his sons-in-law, with ridiculous results, in a lively retelling of an old Russian folktale.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 30, 1994

About the author

Mirra Ginsburg was a Jewish Russian-American translator of Russian literature, a collector of folk tales and a children's writer. Born in Bobruisk (then part of the Russian Empire, now part of modern-day Belarus) in 1909, she moved with her family to Latvia, then to Canada, before they settled in the United States. Although she won praise for her translations of adult literature, including the Master and Margarita (1967) by Mikhail Bulgakov and We (1972) by Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin, she is perhaps most celebrated for her contributions to children's literature. She collected and translated a vast array of folktales from the Russian tradition, as well as Siberian and Central Asian traditions. Ginsburg died in 2000.

Reviews

[The Unabridged Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this tale suffered by translation but the illustrations by Will Hillenbrand are lovely.
We have an exceptionally foolish king whose three daughters marry the sun, the moon, and the Raven king.
The sun is able to cook an egg on his head, but the king cannot repeat this trick.
The moon is able to bring light to a dark nighttime bathhouse just by using his finger, but the king cannot repeat the trick.
The Raven helps the king sleep soundly and safely in the top of a tree, but the king cannot repeat this.

At no point does the king understand why he cannot do these things himself, only vowing never to do so again. No lesson is learned.
His wife does not help him either, only constantly reminds herself that she married a fool.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat odd story about a doofus king and his family. Through a series of events, his three daughters end up marrying the sun, the moon, and a raven, respectively. He visits each in turn and tries to do things only the sun or the moon or a raven can do. Obviously, he is none of these things so he keeps failing.

Okay illustrations.

[Ann-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, silly folktale about a king without too many brains.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a Russian folktale and it is adorable. A great book that you can teach about prediction and lesson learning or just about being happy with who you are.

[Brittany Schaefer]

This is an interesting story line, how the king and his family interact.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

HILARIOUS. pictures are hardish to understand sometimes with this style of illustration.