The King Has Goat Ears

by Katarina Jovanovic, Phillipe Beha (Illustrator)

In this lively retelling of a Serbian folktale, each barber who cuts the king's hair ends up being kept prisoner in the palace. One day, however, a young apprentice named Miro accepts the challenge to cut the king's hair. When he discovers that the king has goat ears, Miro is careful not to tell anyone. But alas, secrets have a way of being found out! What will the king do when he learns that everyone in town knows his secret? (20081201)

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

King Boyan has a secret that only his barbers know! He has ears like a goat. Every time the king needs a haircut a different barber is called – and then is never seen or heard from again. The king, fearing desperately that his secret will be revealed, does not allow the barbers to leave the premises but provides them with other vocations to do, all within the castle walls. When there are no barbers left in the village, Igor, a barber’s apprentice, bravely agrees to cut the ruler’s locks and gains his confidence by assuring him that he looks very handsome indeed. Well pleased, King Boyan allows Igor to return home and continues to call upon him exclusively whenever his hair needs a trim. Igor is very careful not to betray his ruler’s confidence, but finds it extremely difficult to keep the secret to himself. He visits a meadow located outside the village, digs a deep hole in the earth and shouts down into it, “The king has goat ears!” A great weight is lifted from him as he fills in the hole and returns home. However, it is not long before the earth gives up the secret in a most unusual manner. As for King Boyan, he learns to like himself just the way he is! Katarina Jovanovic relates this Serbian folktale in a charming manner. With her words, she effectively paints the personalities of each character. One can sense the painful insecurity of the powerful king who dreads his appearance. Young Igor’s naivety and generous heart shine through as he strives to be a loyal and caring servant to his monarch. The text, though simple, is a pleasure to read aloud. Philippe Béha’s vibrant collage illustrations will engage readers with lively colours and energetic juxtaposition of images. The variety of fonts employed will hold the visual interest of readers. A lively and heart-warming book with a resounding message to all: acceptance of one’s weaknesses, as well as one’s strengths, goes hand in hand with emotional well-being. And who, at any age, doesn't yearn for that!

Reviewed By Senta Ross in Canadian Children's Book News
Fall 2008 VOL.31 NO.4

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Synopsis
Poor King Boyan has goat ears on his head. Because of that he never leaves his castle and getting a hair cut is quite difficult. When he needs a hair cut he summons a barber and then that barber is never seen again. There is now a shortage of barbers. Igor is an apprentice to the only barber left. He agrees to go cut the King's hair. When the King asks Igor how he looks Igor says he looks fine, and then is sent home. But Igor knows the kings secret and can't tell anyone, but needs to let it out, so he digs a hole and yells in his secret and covers it up. Will the secret stay safe?

My Thoughts
This is a cute story. The pictures are cool. They are made up of various textiles and that makes them really special.

I liked how this story shows that you can be happy no matter what you look like. Really it doesn't matter. All that matters is that you are happy and love yourself. It shows how when you stop worrying about things that are out of your control, self-confidence can build.

This book also showed how secrets can spread even when we think we are being careful. Words are powerful things. We need to be careful with them.

The adult in me thought a few things were strange. Like, Why didn't he keep one barber in the castle all the time and just use him? Why did he have to get a new barber each time, even though the other barbers were still in the castle? Wouldn't the people already know he had goat ears, assuming he had them since birth? My kids just accepted things as fact and didn't worry themselves about "the details". Me and my logical brain!

So one the whole I really enjoyed this book. My children really enjoyed this book. That there is a winning combination.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

The artwork in this book is quite clever: it's mixed media but done not as a collage, but as independent pieces of art. The story, however, leaves much to be desired. The plot makes a series of leaps of inference and logic which does make the story a decent length to read aloud, but also achieves a feeling of being made up primarily of exposition. The layout is also problematic: the sentences and paragraphs are broken up oddly. Often, line breaks do not correspond to either punctuation or natural sentence cadence, so that reading aloud tends to sound stilted until the fourth or fifth read-through.