SOLVED. Children's Picture book, 1970s. A boy wants a puppy. He lived in a kingdom where only the king was allowed own a dog. The king challenged him to jump to the top of the castle tower which he did by jumping one step at a time. [s]

[Davidhc]

I read this book at a friend's house in the late 1970s/early 1980s. It had pictures and might have been one story in a collection. The story was about a boy who lived in a kingdom where the King decreed that only the King could own a dog. The boy wanted a puppy and so went to the King and asked him why he could not have a dog. The King demonstrated to the boy that he was the King because he could jump to the top of the castle tower in one jump, which he did. The King then challenged the boy to jump to the top of the tower. The boy did jump to the top of the tower, but he did it by jumping up the stairs one step at a time. The king then allowed him to have a dog. I have always wanted to know the title and author of that book because it is a great fable about achieving large goals one step at a time.

[Mai]

I think it might be The Big Jump and Other Stories by Benjamin Elkin. It was published in 1958.

You can find more info here:
http://www.sturdyforcommonthings.com/...

[Justanotherbiblophile]

Mai wrote: "I think it might be The Big Jump and Other Stories by Benjamin Elkin. It was published in 1958.

I agree.

[STU]

Yep.
The Big Jump.
One of the Cat in the Hat Beginner Books

[Davidhc]

Holy cow - thank you. That's the book.

[Brad]

Mai wrote: "I think it might be The Big Jump and Other Stories by Benjamin Elkin. It was published in 1958.

You can find more info here:
http://www.sturdyforcommonthings.com/......"

Hello. I may have had a deluded childhood, with loftier goals, but I remember a different book that did not involve a dog. The Penticton Public Library in the late 1960’s had a book that I read about a boy promised the castle by the king if he could jump over it. He then spends days practicing by adding one box at a time. Could there be a different book……?