KING AND KING

De Haan, Linda & Stern Mijland. 2000. KING AND KING. Toronto: Tricycle Press.
ISBN-10: 1582460612

PLOT SUMMARY
When a Queen is ready to retire and relax she encourages her son the prince to find himself a wife so he can marry and take over as King. This task is not as easy as she believes. The young prince reveals that he has never been “fond of princesses”. After inspecting several of the nearby princesses he and the Queen are frustrated. They are down to the last princess and it seems as all hope is lost. As Princess Madeleine and her brother Prince Lee enter the room it is love at first sight for the princes. It seems that Prince Lee is everything the young prince has been looking for. After the wedding celebration the Queen is able to relax and the two Kings live happily ever after.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Mijland and de Haan have taken a serious subject and tried to make it less serious. Their use of the fairy tale theme is a nice idea to help reach younger readers. This format also lends it self well to the message of living happily ever after even in a same sex marriage. However, the illustrations are huge distractions from the story. The illustrations are busy with many of them slanted on the page. Several of the pages have patterned backgrounds behind the characters drawing the reader’s eyes from the characters to the patterns. The use of color varies throughout the book. On many pages you have bright colors while on the next page you are given darker colors. The characters are drawn with harsh expressions on their faces and are ugly. In many of the illustrations the prince looks almost sickly and he has a rather feminine appearance like the stereotypical homosexual. The illustrations are the biggest down fall for this book. Overall the theme of same sex marriage in a fairly tale format is a good idea, but the illustrations do not carry the story. There are better choices out on the market on the same subject.


REVIEW EXCERPTS
Publishers Weekly
When a grouchy queen tells her layabout son that it's time for him to marry, he sighs, "Very well, Mother.... I must say, though, I've never cared much for princesses." His young page winks. Several unsatisfactory bachelorettes visit the castle before "Princess Madeleine and her brother, Prince Lee" appear in the doorway. The hero is smitten at once. "What a wonderful prince!" he and Prince Lee both exclaim, as a shower of tiny Valentine hearts flutters between them.

From School Library Journal
Unfortunately, though, the book is hobbled by thin characterization and ugly artwork; the homosexual prince comes across as fragile and languid, while the dour, matronly queen is a dead ringer for England's Victoria at her aesthetic worst. Some of the details in the artwork are interesting, including the "crown kitty" performing antics in the periphery. However, that isn't enough to compensate for page after page of cluttered, disjointed, ill-conceived art. The book does present same-sex marriage as a viable, acceptable way of life within an immediately recognizable narrative form, the fairy tale. However, those looking for picture books about alternative lifestyles may want to keep looking for a barrier-breaking classic on the subject.


Reviews accessed at:
http://www.amazon.com/King-Linda-Haan/dp/1582460612

CONNECTIONS
Additional books on the subject.
And Tango Makes Three ISBN-10: 0689878451
Emma and Meesha My Boy: A Two Mom Story ISBN-10: 1413416004