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King Midas: A Golden Tale
A king finds himself bitterly regretting the consequences of his wish that everything he touches would turn to gold
32 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1999
About the author
John Warren Stewig
36 books5 followersProfessor of Curriculum at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Mr. Stewig lives in Glendale, Wisconsin.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 17, 2021
We picked this book up at our local library to go along with our Greek mythology unit. This retelling of King Midas was average however, the illustrations were HIDEOUS! Very demonic like and even my children said they felt very uncomfortable with the demons and hellish figures throughout. Not a good choice for children's literature.
June 18, 2013
Definitely a good starting point for Greek and Roman mythology; Rayyan's paintings are lovely and amusing. Fantasy lovers will love this one. The story lacked some depth for me; I think the horrifying moment when Midas realizes his beloved daughter has been turned into gold should be, well, a bit more horrifying. Seemed like a wasted moment. But overall, a solid picture book.
August 31, 2024
Author John Warren Stewig and illustrator Omar Rayyan retell the classical Greek story of Kind Midas and his Golden Touch in this vivid picture book. Imagining that gold is the most desirable thing in the world, Midas accepts an offer from the god Dionysus, that everything he touch turns to gold. Overjoyed with this new power at first, the king is dismayed when he cannot eat or drink, as the wine and food turn to gold before he can consume them. But it is when he touches his beloved daughter Marygold that he truly understands how pernicious this supposed gift is...
Published in 1999, King Midas: A Golden Tale is the third picture book I have read from Stewig, following upon his Stone Soup and Mother Holly , and the sixth from Rayyan. It is also the third picture book retelling of this story I have read, following upon that done by Charlotte and Kinuko Craft and that done by Demi. Stewig's telling, like the Craft one, follows the version of this story found in Nathaniel Hawthorne's A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys , which includes Midas' daughter in the tale (the Demi title follows the original classical sources, which do not). I found this telling engaging enough, but was put off a little bit by the artwork. The setting is vaguely classical, but certain elements—King Midas is wearing eyeglasses, and is eating "Poseidon Puffs" for breakfast—were more contemporary. I suspect that the effect was meant to be humorous, but it just felt a little discordant to me. I usually enjoy Rayyan's work, and was drawn in by the Klimt-like cover here, so this was a surprise to me, and not a welcome one. Tastes vary of course, so other readers might want to give this one a try, but overall I recommend the Craft version, which boasts gorgeous artwork as well as an engaging retelling, or the Demi version, which presents the original tale, unmediated by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Published in 1999, King Midas: A Golden Tale is the third picture book I have read from Stewig, following upon his Stone Soup and Mother Holly , and the sixth from Rayyan. It is also the third picture book retelling of this story I have read, following upon that done by Charlotte and Kinuko Craft and that done by Demi. Stewig's telling, like the Craft one, follows the version of this story found in Nathaniel Hawthorne's A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys , which includes Midas' daughter in the tale (the Demi title follows the original classical sources, which do not). I found this telling engaging enough, but was put off a little bit by the artwork. The setting is vaguely classical, but certain elements—King Midas is wearing eyeglasses, and is eating "Poseidon Puffs" for breakfast—were more contemporary. I suspect that the effect was meant to be humorous, but it just felt a little discordant to me. I usually enjoy Rayyan's work, and was drawn in by the Klimt-like cover here, so this was a surprise to me, and not a welcome one. Tastes vary of course, so other readers might want to give this one a try, but overall I recommend the Craft version, which boasts gorgeous artwork as well as an engaging retelling, or the Demi version, which presents the original tale, unmediated by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
August 17, 2018
This re-telling of the famous ancient myth features the usual story: a king craves the Golden Touch and lives to regret it.
The god who favors Midas with his dubious gift is usually Hermes. But here it is an (uncredited) Dionysus, replete with horns, grape vines in his hair and his signature leopard robe. He appears smiling and genial but he is huge and there’s a glacial quality to his skin and a heavy-lidded gaze that imply danger. Midas himself has the look of an ordinary mortal, complete with wrinkles, a big nose, long face and heavily knuckled hands.
Midas ignores the weird creatures around him…but then again he ignores everything except gold. The problems engendered by Midas’s wish creep up on him gradually but steadily until disaster strikes.
But this story is accompanied by superbe whimsical illustrations, with amusing anachronistic touches (Marygold sits down to eat a bowl of breakfast cereal called Poseidon Puffs) and odd juxtapositions between the real and the fantastical. There is a page on which we see a hippopotamus, crocodile, parrot, duck and a leopard. Underneath that we are given a centaur, faun, a scowling stone atlas and a minotaur who seems to have an issue with him. Funny stuff! The book is worthwhile for these gorgeous, unusual drawings alone, featuring an artist with a puckish sense of humor and a gift for conveying story, mood and setting.
The god who favors Midas with his dubious gift is usually Hermes. But here it is an (uncredited) Dionysus, replete with horns, grape vines in his hair and his signature leopard robe. He appears smiling and genial but he is huge and there’s a glacial quality to his skin and a heavy-lidded gaze that imply danger. Midas himself has the look of an ordinary mortal, complete with wrinkles, a big nose, long face and heavily knuckled hands.
Midas ignores the weird creatures around him…but then again he ignores everything except gold. The problems engendered by Midas’s wish creep up on him gradually but steadily until disaster strikes.
But this story is accompanied by superbe whimsical illustrations, with amusing anachronistic touches (Marygold sits down to eat a bowl of breakfast cereal called Poseidon Puffs) and odd juxtapositions between the real and the fantastical. There is a page on which we see a hippopotamus, crocodile, parrot, duck and a leopard. Underneath that we are given a centaur, faun, a scowling stone atlas and a minotaur who seems to have an issue with him. Funny stuff! The book is worthwhile for these gorgeous, unusual drawings alone, featuring an artist with a puckish sense of humor and a gift for conveying story, mood and setting.
May 12, 2019
I read this with my students right after we finished “The Chocolate Touch,” a modern-day retelling of King Midas and the Golden Touch. We all loved not only the story but the stunningly beautiful illustrations that went along with it. The agony and regret portrayed on King Midas’ face when he unwittingly turned the most important thing in his life, his daughter, into gold drew us so far into this fable that we found ourselves completely unaware we were reading a children’s book at all.
September 2, 2020
I love this telling of the Greek Myth King Midas. It has always been a first favorite with kids (when I was a kid the Candy Touch came out - what a thrill!). Kids will love staring at the illustrations and finding whimsical tidbits like a rubber ducky or the fisherman.
November 17, 2025
a classic tale of folklore
October 12, 2015
Title: King Midas: A Golden Tale
Author: John Warren Stewig
Illustrator: Omar Rayyan
Genre: Myth
Theme(s): Appreciation, selfishness, moderation
Opening line/sentence: (type directly from text)
Brief Book Summary: The book starts off with a King who loves gold. The King is granted one wish, and he wishes for everything he touches to turn into gold. He is ecstatic when everything he touches turns into gold until he can no longer eat and accidentally turns his daughter into gold. The story ends with him wishing to have his powers revoked.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: The Horn Book Guide Online
Stewig, John Warren King Midas
32 pp. Holiday 1999. ISBN 0-8234-1423-X
(3) K-3 Illustrated by Omar Rayyan. In this comic retelling, King Midas is a bored, greedy, middle-aged man who receives the golden touch from a mysterious stranger only to regret it even before he eats breakfast, having turned the food, and his daughter, into gold. Whimsical gold-washed watercolors crammed with mythological creatures play up the humor in Stewig's interpretation of the Greek myth.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:Kirkus Reviews
A polished, poignant retelling of a familiar legend and its worthy moral, that some things in life are worth more than their weight in gold. Greed drives King Midas when a mysterious stranger decides to grant his wish for a golden touch; too late the king realizes that everything he touches-roses, bed sheets, food, coffee, his beloved daughter-turns to cold yellow metal. By the time the stranger reappears, Midas is more than ready to return his gift. Rayyan's illustrations create a rich, busy background for the events; harpies, sphinxes, and satyrs scurry around, while careful observers will spot Icarus plunging toward the earth at the same moment that Midas transforms his daughter, Marygold. Such wonderful details bind the art and the text with perfect alacrity, ensuring that this book will not be long on the shelves. (Picture book/folkore. 5-9) .
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews touch on the moral of the story being a good lesson. However, Horn Book seems to make light of the seriousness of this book due to how quickly the King gave up his powers and how the mythological creatures were illustrated. Kirkus Reviews study the detail in the illustrations more, rather than simply associating them with Stewig's humor.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The pictures in the book are very expressive, as the reader can see how the King's face changes through how he feels moment to moment, and this makes it easier for the reader to emphasize with him when he turns his daughter into gold. The colors are shades of gold (reflecting off of the idea that the King is too driven by his love for gold, and the illustrations offer a lot of extra detail behind the book. The details offer the reader more to explore as they are reading the book.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book is a well-known myth that teaches readers how too much of a good thing can be bad. A teacher could perhaps ask children one thing they love before reading the book, and then finish off the book by asking the kids how they would feel if everything they touched turned into the object they said they love before reading the book. This could then tie in with the idea of how everything is good in moderation.
Author: John Warren Stewig
Illustrator: Omar Rayyan
Genre: Myth
Theme(s): Appreciation, selfishness, moderation
Opening line/sentence: (type directly from text)
Brief Book Summary: The book starts off with a King who loves gold. The King is granted one wish, and he wishes for everything he touches to turn into gold. He is ecstatic when everything he touches turns into gold until he can no longer eat and accidentally turns his daughter into gold. The story ends with him wishing to have his powers revoked.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: The Horn Book Guide Online
Stewig, John Warren King Midas
32 pp. Holiday 1999. ISBN 0-8234-1423-X
(3) K-3 Illustrated by Omar Rayyan. In this comic retelling, King Midas is a bored, greedy, middle-aged man who receives the golden touch from a mysterious stranger only to regret it even before he eats breakfast, having turned the food, and his daughter, into gold. Whimsical gold-washed watercolors crammed with mythological creatures play up the humor in Stewig's interpretation of the Greek myth.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:Kirkus Reviews
A polished, poignant retelling of a familiar legend and its worthy moral, that some things in life are worth more than their weight in gold. Greed drives King Midas when a mysterious stranger decides to grant his wish for a golden touch; too late the king realizes that everything he touches-roses, bed sheets, food, coffee, his beloved daughter-turns to cold yellow metal. By the time the stranger reappears, Midas is more than ready to return his gift. Rayyan's illustrations create a rich, busy background for the events; harpies, sphinxes, and satyrs scurry around, while careful observers will spot Icarus plunging toward the earth at the same moment that Midas transforms his daughter, Marygold. Such wonderful details bind the art and the text with perfect alacrity, ensuring that this book will not be long on the shelves. (Picture book/folkore. 5-9) .
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews touch on the moral of the story being a good lesson. However, Horn Book seems to make light of the seriousness of this book due to how quickly the King gave up his powers and how the mythological creatures were illustrated. Kirkus Reviews study the detail in the illustrations more, rather than simply associating them with Stewig's humor.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The pictures in the book are very expressive, as the reader can see how the King's face changes through how he feels moment to moment, and this makes it easier for the reader to emphasize with him when he turns his daughter into gold. The colors are shades of gold (reflecting off of the idea that the King is too driven by his love for gold, and the illustrations offer a lot of extra detail behind the book. The details offer the reader more to explore as they are reading the book.
Consideration of Instructional Application: This book is a well-known myth that teaches readers how too much of a good thing can be bad. A teacher could perhaps ask children one thing they love before reading the book, and then finish off the book by asking the kids how they would feel if everything they touched turned into the object they said they love before reading the book. This could then tie in with the idea of how everything is good in moderation.
March 14, 2011
I remember hearing about King Midas as a child. I was fascinated that everything he touched turned to gold. This version of the popular Greek Myth was absoulutely amazing. The illustrations were full of detail and there was some humor that maybe only adults would pick up on. Some pages were filled with bold colors of red and purple, where some pages had muted pastels. The pictures of King Midas were made to look like ancient Greece, such as the attire and the pillars etc., but there were modern insertions in the pictures. On the very first page, he had a studded collar on his pet lepoard with a dishbowl that reads "Spot". Nest to it was a bag of Leopard Chow. He was also eating Poseidon Puffs for breakfast. There were details like this throughout that offered a modern twist. The moral of the story is what the highlight was for me though: Be careful what you wish for and that it is not what you possess that matters, it is who you choose to share your life with.
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June 25, 2011King Midas adores nothing more in life than his daughter and gold. When a mysterious stranger arrives and asks him what he desires most, Midas requests that everything he touches turn to gold. His wish is granted and the next morning, Midas begins turning everyday objects into valuable treasures. When he accidentally turns his glasses, food, and daughter to gold, Midas realizes what this wish really means. When the stranger appears again, Midas admits that he has learned his lesson and the stranger tells him how to reverse the Golden Touch.
Like many traditional tales, this one teaches a lesson: being rich does not always make one happy. Children of all ages can enjoy and learn from the story. The illustrations, while adding to the meaning of the story, are also a great source of entertainment in themselves. The illustrator chose to add in many asides that catch the reader’s eye and bring about a laugh.
Like many traditional tales, this one teaches a lesson: being rich does not always make one happy. Children of all ages can enjoy and learn from the story. The illustrations, while adding to the meaning of the story, are also a great source of entertainment in themselves. The illustrator chose to add in many asides that catch the reader’s eye and bring about a laugh.
October 16, 2009
Be careful what you wish for! I can not imagine having everything I touch turn immediately into gold. It would definitely get old quickly!
The pastel colors used in the illustrations reflect the statues or marbles one would find in the palace of King Midas.
I think that a previous knowledge of mythical creatures would help the reader understand the time period or setting of this book. Also, would help the reader understand many of the sly witticisms the illustrator placed in the illustrations like King Midas’ cereal being called Poseidon Puffs or the sign in the river reading “Atlantis 15 KM”.
:)
The pastel colors used in the illustrations reflect the statues or marbles one would find in the palace of King Midas.
I think that a previous knowledge of mythical creatures would help the reader understand the time period or setting of this book. Also, would help the reader understand many of the sly witticisms the illustrator placed in the illustrations like King Midas’ cereal being called Poseidon Puffs or the sign in the river reading “Atlantis 15 KM”.
:)
August 30, 2012
If I could give this more stars I would. This is a retelling of the classic story of King Midas. The words themselves are well done. But the illustrations are the star of the show. They are beautiful, whimsical, imaginative, and wonderful. Each page has facets of mythology included as beautiful side notes to the story. Amazing creatures watch sadly as King Midas gets giddy over gold at the expense of eating and hugging his daughter.
My words cannot do justice. This is a great book, one of our family's favorites.
My words cannot do justice. This is a great book, one of our family's favorites.
July 21, 2011
While the story was told wonderfully, it was the illustrations in this one that won me over. Rayyan's melding of ancient and modern-as well as his attention to detail- made me chuckle.
In my opinion, this is by far the best take on the King Midas tale out there.
In my opinion, this is by far the best take on the King Midas tale out there.
March 14, 2015
A lame version. Seek the better ones elsewhere.
January 16, 2016
This is a re-telling of the King Midas myth. Nicely done, but nothing too original.
Beautiful illustrations.
Beautiful illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews