What an odd children's story. The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine. I was so intrigued by the title of this book to check it out of the library, even though I don't have a child to read it to.
The original story is the work of Mark Twain, discovered unfinished and so finished and illustrated by Philip and Erin Stead. It seems a bit dark and violent for young children. It is an allegory that gives the reader an important lesson about the importance of kindness, generosity, and empathy instead of power, intimidation and gold.
Johnny lives with his bully of a grandfather, who sends him off to market with their only skinny chicken. When he comes home with some blue beans given to him by a small old woman, then grandfather yells and throws the beans away. Johnny rescues one last beans and follows the directions from he woman to plant the beans and eat the flower. This leads him on an adventure to rescue a stolen prince and talk with the forest animals. The illustrations are beautiful watercolors, muted and simple.
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