Ο Βασιλιάς Τάρανδος

by Ulf Stark

STRÖVA the elk (moose) doesn't think he is good enough to be king of the forest, and KNORRIG the tame pig would rather be wild and free. What happens when dreams come true? Can we do more than we think we can? Recommended for ages 5 to 8. Color illustrations. 32 pages.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Ulf Gottfrid Stark was a Swedish author and screenwriter (he adapted several of his own books for film and wrote the screenplay for the 1999 film Tsatsiki, morsan och polisen).

Stark collaborated with the illustrators Anna Höglund and Mati Lepp.

From 1989 to 1998 he was an elected member of the Swedish Academy for Children's Books Svenska barnboksakademin. In 1998 he received the Nordic Children's Book Prize.

Stark was born and grew up in Stureby, Stockholm Municipality, which place features in several of his books. Stark's interest in writing started early; during his time at secondary school he was introduced to writing by his classmate Peter Curman, and in 1964 he wrote his first poetry Ett hål till livet. Following this, Stark's interest in writing for a career was greatly encouraged.

Reviews

[Der · Rating 5 out of 5]

Niedliche Story

[Jakub · Rating 4 out of 5]

Przyjemna książka, z fajnymi obrazkami i trochę miłej i niecodziennej wiedzy dla dzieci. Fajnie tez pokazane że nie trzeba wiedzieć wszystkiego a czasami wystarczy dać komuś innemu powiedzieć jak coś można rozwiązać.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Convinced he will be no good as king, something elk are destined to be, the cervine hero of this Swedish picture book wanders the forest, encountering a series of animals in need. Although not able to find a solution for any of these distressed creatures, the elk does give assistance to each, when asked to do so. Eventually, visiting a farm on the edge of the forest, where he like to eat the apples, the elk frees a domestic pig who fancies life in the wild. Both elk and pig found they have made a mistake however, as the elk is unanimously welcomed in as king by the other forest residents and the pig discovers that he is not meant to live in the forest...

I had no idea that the furniture store IKEA also published children's books for the international market, apparently releasing titles from well-known Swedish authors and illustrators in multiple languages, and selling them in their stores around the world. Then I found King Elk and two others from author Ulf Stark at my local public library's annual sale, and immediately picked them up, having greatly enjoyed this author's The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits . I found myself wondering, as I read, whether the story here was written and illustrated explicitly for IKEA, or whether that company chose books already published in Sweden for their collection. In any case, while I don't think this was anywhere near the equal of Stark's books about Grumpy the tomte, I did find it engaging. The story is sweet and reassuring, and the accompanying artwork from illustrator Ann-Cathrine Sigrid Ståhlberg is expressive and appealing. Recommended to young picture book audiences who enjoy animal stories.

[Kinga (oazaksiazek) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bohaterami tej krótkiej bajki są łoś i świnka. Śledząc losy tych dwojga, doszłam do wniosku, że książka zbudowana jest na prostym schemacie, który niestety mnie nie zachwycił.

Po pierwsze, poznajemy łosia, który wciąż nie wierzy w siebie. Z różnych historii dowiadujemy się, że jest on skromny, pomocny i bezinteresowny. Po drugie, mamy do czynienia ze świnką, która chce być wszędzie tam, gdzie jeszcze jej nie było. Jest ciekawa świata i bardzo chciałaby być wolna.

Kiedy ta dwójka się poznaje, dzieci uczą się, czym jest pomoc innym oraz poczucie pewności siebie.

Myślę, że na polskim rynku wydawniczym jest dużo lepszych książek dla najmłodszych. Z drugiej strony nie stracicie dużo czasu na jej przeczytania, więc możecie sami wyrobić sobie opinię na jej temat.

[Jennifer B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

The drawings are quite cute, but what really makes it great is the rather irrelevant poop field guide.

[Antonio Feitoza Gomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute and adorable fable!

[Roy Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite purchase from IKEA. Double down on the candles and Swedish meatballs instead.

[Bess Karlsdóttir]

Gelezen in het IJslands...

[Nadine]

I bought this book as a gift for my 3YO son and each time I or his father read it, I became more and more disappointed in my selection. The King 'Elk' is very unsure of his leadership skills and encounters many opportunities throughout the story to help different animals in his kingdom. Instead of finding clever ways to assist them, he pretty much leaves them to fend for themselves or solve their own problems. I am at the point now that I will probably remove this book from my son's library and hope that over time he forgets most of the details of the story. Perhaps the author might re-work the storyline to show King Elk as more attentive to others and actually having real problem-solving skills that he didn't realize are helpful. Great illustrations.

[Sean Wolfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

An elk is unsure about who he is to become, the king. Unwittingly, he helps many woodland creatures throughout the book as other woodland creatures watch. The other creatures see his character, but he doesn't. A powerful reminder that while we may not see our own strengths, others do. It also offers a challenge to embrace differing leadership styles.

[ThomyZ · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the weirdest children's book reads in a while. A friend got it for her kids at IKEA and wanted my 'professional' opinion as a kindergarten teacher. Long story short, I was not impressed: the illustrations are passable, but the story is just weird, bordering on disturbing, with a side plot suddenly coming out of left field and leading to two different morals, both of which seem very misplaced in a book for small children.

For some bizarre reason, the last page consists entirely of drawings of animal droppings, which sums up my opinion of this book quite well.

[Adinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Prentenboeken van Ikea, dat klinkt als een wat gewaagde combi. Maar, ondanks een wat matig verhaaltje is het resultaat best aardig. De tekeningen zijn erg geslaagd en de hoofdpersonen zijn ook als knuffel te koop. Voor 4-6 euro kun je je daar geen buil aan vallen.

[Athos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Son of Athos is still too young for this, but Athos liked it very much. It's a very cute and subtle story and a beautiful book, complete with forest poop identification. What more could one ask for?

[Barbara Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

The elk is supposed to be king, but doesn't know how. He consults many animals. This is a cute story about believing in yourself and empowering others. I read it during a trip to Ikea.

[Natalie Malone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book as a gift. It's a really cute story about an Elk trying to figure out if he makes a good king or not.