King Stork

by Howard Pyle, Peter Glassman (Afterword), Trina Schart Hyman (Illustrator)

Filled with all the things a good tale should have-from fiery dragons and savage lions to a clever princess and a handsome hero-this storyteller's favorite is here paired with spectacular art from Caldecott medalist Trina Schart Hyman. The original edition won the 1973 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Illustration.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Folklore, Fiction

48 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1973

About the author

Howard Pyle was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people.

During 1894 he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry (now Drexel University), and after 1900 he founded his own school of art and illustration named the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art. The term Brandywine School was later applied to the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists of the Brandywine region by Pitz. Some of his more famous students were N. C. Wyeth, Frank Schoonover, Elenore Abbott, Ethel Franklin Betts, Anna Whelan Betts, Harvey Dunn, Clyde O. DeLand, Philip R. Goodwin, Violet Oakley, Ellen Bernard Thompson Pyle, Olive Rush, Allen Tupper True, and Jessie Willcox Smith.

His 1883 classic publication The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print, and his other books, frequently with medieval European settings, include a four-volume set on King Arthur. He is also well known for his illustrations of pirates, and is credited with creating the now stereotypical modern image of pirate dress. He published an original novel, Otto of the Silver Hand, in 1888. He also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harper's Weekly and St. Nicholas Magazine. His novel Men of Iron was made into a movie in 1954, The Black Shield of Falworth.

Pyle travelled to Florence, Italy to study mural painting during 1910, and died there in 1911 from a kidney infection (Bright's Disease).

His sister Katharine Pyle was also a writer and illustrator. Their mother was the children's author and translator M.C. Pyle.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a lucky day for the drummer lad when he did a favor for the king of the storks because, frankly, he didn't have much to recommend him otherwise.

"It is a poor fellow who cannot manage a wife when he has her" -- and he knew as much about that business as a goose about churning butter.

This is an odd story but Pyle's prose and Hyman's art make it work.

I do wonder about the backstory, though. How did the young princess become a wicked enchantress and meet a crone with an awesome scary castle?

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Minimal dragons and lions, despite what the blurb implies. No dragons, no lions, despite what the blurb says. I can't tell for sure, but I don't think the text is Pyle's original (despite no mention of an adaptation, when I find picture captions for Pyle's original art the language is much more archaic). And the princess, well, is she wicked, and deserves to be beaten? Or is she a strong and smart young woman who wants to be independent, or at least to marry a man (woman?) of her choosing? Of course Hyman's art is fantastic, though. I particularly love the king.

Btw, don't get this fairy tale mixed up with the fable about the frogs who desired a king.

(A commentator told me where to find the lions and dragons... I think that somehow I missed that spread the other times I read it. But sure enough, OpenLibrary shows them clearly.)

[Kristen · Rating 2 out of 5]

5 stars for the illustrations.

This story was highly enjoyable until I came to the domestic violence. Sure, this is a fairy tale, but when the moral of the story is beating your wife to make her kind and submissive? No thank you. I draw the line.

Too bad, because Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations are gorgeous and wonderfully detailed. I guess I shouldn't have expected too much from the guy that compiled the adventures of the misogynist in tights though.

[Set · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is so strange and I like weird but the story is kind of nonsensical, yet, I still love it. The illustrations blew me away.

[Jessica T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of a weird book, especially the wife-beating part. The beautiful illustrations saved it, though.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard Pyle's telling uses motifs from various folk and fairy tales; such as helping a stranger and getting rewarded; being given tests, and receiving help from the stranger that he had helped; and having to hold onto someone while they changed shapes (as in Tam Lin). Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations are detailed and lush; although the young woman/witch's clothes barely cover her.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

TSH needed to rein in her considerable talents. She overdoes things here.

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was always one of my least favorite of Pyle’s fairytales, but Hyman’s illustrations are always gorgeous.

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Not for young children!

Look, I really liked this very strange book. It isn't really a kid's book, maybe it was in the 70's, but most modern parents would be horrified. I would buy this for my spouse because he would think this was hilarious. He's pretty much the target audience.

The princess is as close to naked as she could possibly be. There are also gruesome heads on pikes. The princess is actually a witch who has enjoyed watching all those people get beheaded. At the end of the book, the dude marries her anyway because he has a 'cure' from King Stork. To cure her of being wicked, he has to dump milk on her and beat her with a switch while she shapeshifts. Yes. That happens. Then she turns into a mellow housewife.

Obviously, this is a problematic picture book. I'm a pretty lenient parent, but, I can't picture reading this to my daughter yet. I didn't really have a problem with the cure for the princess' affliction until the sentence about her being an excellent housewife after. Obviously before that she was basically a murderer, so housewife is an improvement over murderer, but still.. I don't particularly like the message that if you like someone's appearance but not their attitude that you just beat them until they have the attitude you prefer..

AND after all that, I was still absolutely amused by this bizarre book. This will probably end up being spouse's anniversary gift. Too bad they are only available used.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been re-reading my large collection of Pyle lately. This remains one of my absolute favorite versions. Also, many years ago, it was my first introduction to the incredible artistry of Trina Schart Hyman. Sly, witty, and earthy. She loved bare feet and painted them constantly, and that one trait gives her characters a certain grounding in their world. Pyle, no mean artist himself and the teacher who inspired a generation of illustrators, also was a great storyteller. His reworkings of fairy tales still make me laugh and have a liveliness and very American humor lacking from the somewhat drier collections of Lang and others of the late Victorian and early Edwardian era.

[Saturday's Child · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is my childhood favourite. I borrowed it from my Primary School Library on a regular basis. I adore the illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman and I was fortunate to buy my very own copy as an adult when it was re-published.

[Aloysiuss · Rating 2 out of 5]

good illustration, story is a bit yikes. all that trouble to marry the princess (aka: serial executioner witch) when the drummer could have just married king stork who was already acting like a sugar daddy, and is a bird king... he seemed like a pretty chill dude idk.

[Sasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

TSH is one of my favorite illustrators. She is all things mystical and mythical and Arthurian, and her "St. George and the Dragon" is still the best out there. I was expecting her signature spidery-but-soft-edged sketches of maidens, knights, and forests, and she delivered, embellishing my expectations with one-eyed witches, dragons, and royalty, to boot. My fault with this book lies with the wordsmith himself, Mr. Pyle. The words have not aged well into the modern era (though of course, that isn't Howie's bad). The repetition, strange monikers, and sentence structure were sometimes too announcer-ish, too condescending (as if the reader were so unintelligent they would forget all plot events heretofore). Also, it felt very Aesop-reminiscent for me, especially the man carrying the elder across the river and the talking stork anthropomorphism. For that, minus a star. TSH pretty much lifted this the rest.

[Doria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is lavishly and rather erotically illustrated by the late Trina Schart Hyman, one of the most brilliant illustrators whose work I’ve had the pleasure to see. Unfortunately, the tale is told from a misogynistic vantage point, relentlessly pitting men against women, with total victory through violence scored by the former against the latter. This pretty well spoils the happily-ever-after ending for me.

Luckily, the illustrations are so detailed, so expressive, and so full of implied movement, that they can practically tell the story themselves. The violence described by the author is not depicted by the illustrator, leaving us to draw our own conclusions about the story, and about her interpretation of it.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a very odd story. I could identify a lot of elements from other folktales, but they didn't all work together for me. It also had some of the most similes and metaphors I've ever read in one story. I don't know why the drummer wanted to marry the clearly evil murderous princess, or why the king didn't seem to know who her mother was. My least favorite part was when the drummer beat his reluctant new wife into being a good and submissive woman. I enjoyed Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations, but she chose to give the princess some very prominent features that seemed unnecessary in a children's book.

Overall, this story was pretty weird and I wouldn't recommend it for kids, but maybe people who already like the author/illustrator or appreciate folklore.

[Jessica Tracy · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was hit and miss at times. With a couple large misses. Namely the beating of his wife to "drive the evil out of her". A few times throughout the book the writing was clunky and tripped me up that I had to read and reread parts to figure out the messy sentences.

The illustrations are mostly lovely. The wicked princess is often dressed in a see through gown with many variations on mostly open fronts. We see barely covered nipples from her most of the time. We also see some naked female statues and some gory heads on pikes. Overall, the provocative depiction of the princess and gory elements were a no from me despite the lovely artwork style.

To me this is a more adult picture book dressed up as a children's book.

[Lara Lleverino · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fantastic fairy tale to read to teach about similes, metaphors, and the use of figurative language. This edition illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman is fabulous! You can read it for free on www.internetarchive.org. I think however if I was reading this with a child we would have discussions about what truly makes a hero? Some of the actions of the Drummer in this story seem laud worthy but some (beating his new wife to make her good) need to be discussed and considered against a different moral code.

[Reading Through the Lists · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are quite fun but the story is a bit (well, more than a bit) yikes.

The fairytale motifs used here are easily recognizable and are all, on their own, very solid additions to any fairy story. However, here they are strung together in such a way to produce a highly misogynistic and honestly quite unpleasant tale. Essentially Tam Lin, but if Tam Lin ended with Janet beating the crap out of her new husband in order to turn him into a better man.

2.5 stars.

[Debby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The King of the Storks grants the drummer three wishes for carrying him across the river. When the drummer decides to win the hand of the princess, who is really a witch, the King of Storks helps him and he makes the princess behave the rest of her life.

Fascinating fairy tale with detailed color pictures.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting story about a drummer who must answer questions from a beautiful princess or join the fate of others who have come before him. If he can answers the questions, he will win her hand. Little does she know, he has magical powers lent from the King of the Storks to help him.

Not a favorite story, but it was something different.

[Richelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very bizarre. It was suppose to be a children's book. In my opinion maybe a teen book because of the morals and sexual content of the book. The pictures where well thought out and interesting illustrated.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

How to rate this? I LOVE Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations. She is just the best. (Check out the witch's table closely.)
But the ending! Whoa, that ending. I can beat the goodness into her! Nope nope nope.
So here we are with just 3 stars.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 5 out of 5]

T.S.H.!!!

[Danica Midlil · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just wow. He beat the evilness from his wife. Nope. Not gonna be reading this to my kiddos, Mr. Pyle. Sorry. Pictures were, of course, beautiful, but then Trina Schart Hyman can do no wrong.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

BEAUTIFUL PICTURES. I don’t know that I care for the story.

[El · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the illustrations. I do not love the sexism, hatred against non-Christians, and domestic violence.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art and a story I hadn't heard before. Spoilers: a scene of domestic violence towards the end.

[Carfig · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young man helps an older man cross the river. The older man is the King Stork and helps him get the better of an old witch and the cursed princess.

[Jayme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't say that I am surprised at the number of reviewers criticizing a nineteenth century text through the lens of twenty-first century liberal political belonging. Though it is in the tradition of fairy tales and fables to teach a thing, this text is emphatically not a lesson in modern gender roles; goodness, that would be boring--and indeed, is boring if that is the narrow frame one chooses to read within. If, however, one were to consider Pyle's text within more of a political framework, well, that would liven the conversation up a bit; especially as juxtaposed against Hyman's beautiful but suggestive illustrations--is she being subversive or is she being intentionallly sustaining? As one might expect, Pyle's original illustrations are not suggestive (they can be found in The Wonder Clock) and that fact may itself open up other avenues of discussion--yes, about politics (and gender) but also, about art and representation, about experience and meaning. Indeed, taken as a whole, this book is an especially fertile field for conversation, being rich in both language and artistry, stimulating the intellect as well as the imagination.

[Kami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book because of the story and illustrations but I had a few caveats. I didn't like that he beat his wife with a stick till she promised to be good, yeah, that might have been the original, but that isn't something I want to be reading to my kids and I'm usually all for reading the original fairy tales to kids. And the pictures were lovely (I love Trina Schart Hyman's illustrations!) but the girl was so scantily clad that I didn't really think it was appropriate. We own a Little Mermaid book that has a lot of mermaids without tops, so I'm not exactly a prude, but this seemed so unnecessary where it seemed more fitting in the Little Mermaid book. I guess that's why it bothered me more here. Anyway, check it out before you buy, if that kind of stuff might bother you.