King & King facts for kids

King & King

Authors	Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland
Original title	Koning & Koning
Cover artist	Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland
Language	Dutch
Subject	Marriage, weddings, gay love, princes
Genre	Children's fiction
Publisher	Netherlands: Gottmer USA: Tricycle Press
Publication date	2000
Published in English	2002
Media type	Print
Pages	32
ISBN	978-1-58246-061-1
OCLC	26563465
Followed by	King & King & Family

King & King is a children's picture book co-authored and co-illustrated by Stern Nijland and Linda De Haan. King & King tells the story of a young prince whose mother is forcing him to find his princess. However, after meeting many princesses, the prince falls in love with another prince. King & King was originally written in Dutch and has since been published in ten languages. The book's illustrations have received both positive and negative reviews, as has the storyline. The book has been analyzed for both its usefulness in the classroom and its challenges to social norms.

The book has gained some prominence due to opposition from social conservatives who believe that children should not see LGBT themes; attention as a result of this opposition greatly increased sales of the book.

Plot

"On the tallest mountain above town," the young Prince Bertie still has not married, as is the custom in his kingdom. His mother, a grouchy Queen who is tired of ruling and wishes to pass on the responsibility to her son, insists he must find a princess to marry. The prince tells his mom "Very well, Mother.... I must say, though, I've never cared much for princesses." His mother marches princess after princess through the castle, from places ranging from Greenland to Mumbai, but in spite of their various talents — Princess Aria of Austria sings opera, Princess Dolly from Texas juggles and does magic tricks — they fail to interest the prince (though the prince's page falls in love with the princess from Greenland). After a while, along comes Princess Madeleine escorted by her brother Prince Lee. At the same time, both Bertie and Lee exclaim, "What a wonderful prince!" The princes immediately fall in love, and they begin marriage preparations at once. The wedding is attended by all the rejected princesses and their families; the two princes are declared King and King, and the Queen can finally relax, sunning herself in a lounge chair near the page and the princess from Greenland. The story ends with a kiss between the two kings.

Publication

It was originally written in Dutch ("Koning & Koning") and published in the Netherlands in 2000, but has since been published in ten languages. A stage adaptation has been performed globally, from Vienna to Mexico City. In the United States, it was published by Berkeley, California-based Tricycle Press (the children's imprint of Ten Speed Press) in 2002; as of 2009, 20,000 copies have been sold in the United States. At Tricycle Press' request a sequel, King & King & Family, about the kings adopting a child, appeared in 2004.

Style and Genre

King & King is a fictional children's picture book intended for ages 6 and older that combines both illustrations and text. The illustrations are created as collages with cut paper and mixed-media art, including ink and paint.

The book's illustrations have been a point of disagreement amongst reviewers, who disagree if the illustrations add or distract from the story. The book and the illustrations were critiqued by Horn book Magazine, Lambda Book Report, The School Library, Publisher's Weekly, and Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Roger Sutton of the Horn Book Magazine called the illustrations "silly but affectionate collage illustrations." Sutton claims that this style of collage complements the "text for whimsical irreverence." Nancy Garde of the Lambda Book Report also positively reviewed the illustrations. She described the illustrations, noting the fun details and objects to be found on the pages. She also mentions the "colorful cut-paper collages," but she describes them as "big and brash." The School Library described the illustrations as "cluttered, disjointed, ill-conceived art." The review says that the artwork takes away from the overall message of the book, as it distracts the audience from the fun and positive details in the book. Publisher's Weekly also condemned the illustration in the book, noting the ugly color scheme, inconsistent body and image shapes and ugly characters. The distasteful images caused Publisher's Weekly to recommend a different book with a similarly diverse theme, rather than reading King & King. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books similarly described the fully filled pages, but rather than describing them negatively, Deborah Stevenson from Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books characterized the illustrations as "joyously informal pageantry."

Sequel

King & King & Family (Tricycle Press, March 2004 ISBN: 1-58246-113-9) is the sequel to King & King. It is a 32-page hardcover English-language book, at a recommended reading level for children ages 4–8. It was written and illustrated by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland.

This second installment follows the newlywed kings on their honeymoon. The two explore a jungle, finding various animals that all have children; King Bertie expresses the wish that he and King Lee have a child of their own. When they return home, they find that a lonely orphan girl has stowed away in their suitcase. They adopt her, name her Daisy, and raise her as a princess.

See also

In Spanish: Rey y rey para niños