The Wizard's Tears

by Maxine Kumin, Anne Sexton, Evaline Ness (Illustrator)

The new wizard tries to solve all the town's problems, but carelessness with his own magic tears creates a tragedy instead.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

Maxine Kumin's 17th poetry collection, published in the spring of 2010, is Where I Live: New and Selected Poems 1990-2010. Her awards include the Pulitzer and Ruth Lilly Poetry Prizes, the Poets’ Prize, and the Harvard Arts and Robert Frost Medals. A former US poet laureate, she and her husband lived on a farm in New Hampshire. Maxine Kumin died in 2014.

Reviews

[Diane S ☔ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a book called The Equivalents: A Story of Art, Female Friendship, and Liberation in the 1960s, which included Anne Sexton and Maxine Kumin, the two authors of this children's book. I found the above mentioned book so fascinating that I'm doing a side challenge. So many authors and artists are mentioned within that I've decided to read those mentioned in the book.

Kumin and Sexton were friends, both poets, and they were constantly on the phone bouncing thoughts off each other. They wrote, I think four children's books together, of which this is the fourth. Sexton would take her own life and never see it published.

The book is about an old wizard whose spells are no longer effectual. The town gets a new young wizard and at first everything goes swimmingly. Pretty sure chaos reigns and the young wizard consults with the old wizard. As with all youth, wizard of not, there is a learning curve. Charming and funny, the illustrations are wonderful.

[Tooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

-Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network for the review copy of this book— all opinions are my own-

The Wizard’s Tears by maxine Kumin and Anne Sexton and illustrated by Karen Katz is a funny, wild tale about a young wizard taking over wizard job at the town. It is whimsical, fun, and has illustrations to match. The town of Drocknock is experiencing problems with a drought, missing cows, and more! The new wizard comes in and fixes everything, but he finds out how powerful a wizard’s tears are when he has to use them to solve a problem! This book is fun and the story is engaging. It takes you on a fun journey with a wizard and dive into the imaginations of the authors. Add this to your library! Release Date: October 23, 2018

[paulina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous, whimsical, inventive. This is a stunning children’s book - I immediately bought and sent a copy to my best friend for his baby, as they will both love it. The illustrations by Keren Katz are absolutely enthralling. I would get this tattooed. And the story by Maxine Kumin and Anne Sexton (my first exposure to their kiddielit collaborations) is marvelous. So happy to have found this.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a long picture book but it is a beautiful story! If you are a fan of nonsensical, magical stories this is for you. A fable version of a Monty Python styled tale.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird in the best way.

[Guilherme Semionato · Rating 3 out of 5]

As lágrimas do mago (Camaleão, 2024)

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I initially read this because it was co-written by Anne Sexton, and it was a fun story. The art is all black and white, orange and green. Very 1975. I'm about to re-read a bunch of Anne Sexton, so maybe I'll see more of a connection once her poetry is fresh in my mind.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.