Twice upon a time

by Irwin Shapiro, Adrienne Adams (Illustrator)

A wandering writer finds trouble in the kingdom of Gib-Gib where the king wants everything twice as big, twice as much, or twice as long as anywhere else in the world.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars -- This is a fairy tale that imparts a lesson that is still relevant today. Rambling Richard is a writer of stories & poems. He wanders the world writing about what he sees. In this, he wanders into Gib Gib, a city where the king wants everything to be twice as much as what other cities have. This quest is detrimental to his people, though. For example, they continually build a mountain that is twice as high & dig a hole that is twice as deep only to have both come crashing down on their heads on a daily basis. When Rambling Richard is commissioned by the king to write a pleasing story about Gib-Gib that is twice as long as any other, the writer does, but he also cleverly hatches a plan to teach the king a valuable lesson. This is #14 in the 2026 Search & Purge, and unfortunately, this will not make the cut. It has no checkouts, there are no other copies in any local library, and it has condition issues such as schmutz stains on its cover. It also uses the word 'gay' as in happy, which older elementary kids just can't handle any more despite other archaic meanings or mature conversations of explanation. Farewell.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, lovely, lovely, lovely!

[Kathleen Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! Want to be Rambling Richard!

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still own this book from my childhood. What a treasure to be able to read this to my darling nephew who insists I read him bedtime stories. This is a great fable and he enjoyed the pictures. And like the angel he is, he's fast asleep by the end. The easiest kid you ever want to meet.

[KDawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is out of print...but a wonderful story if you can get your hands on it.

[Strider Diamond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my ABSOLUTE favorite bed time story!! Wonderful simply wonderful.