King and King by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland

King and King, by Linda de Haan and Stern Nijland is, among many other things, a story about the power of love.  Prince Bertie has his pick of princesses but will settle for nothing less than true love.  He finds this true love in a prince.  First of all, this book had fabulous illustrations!  They were composed of a variety of medias and were energetic and eye catching.   These illustrations really complimented the overall positive mood of the book.  The plot of the book was a traditional fairy tale in which a royal heir must marry.  There are two slight variations in plot, though, that make this book phenomenal!  First, and most prominent, is the fact that the prince ends up with another prince.   The plot presents this ending in a very positive and matter-of-fact way that really leaves the reader with a warm and satisfying feeling associated with the story.  Second, the princesses that are offered to Prince Bertie as potential wives are very diverse and multicultural.  I loved this!  We get to see princesses from all over the world, including places as different as Mumbai and Texas.  Although we all love fairy tales, these traditional stories often contain characters and plots that are oppressive to certain cohorts.  It’s great to see authors challenging this aspect of fairy tales by recreating them in ways that give silenced individuals and groups a place in them and a voice. 
            Many of the books that I read that address LGBT topics I would want to have on hand as references in case the topic was brought up by a student in class, but I wouldn’t necessarily use them for a lesson.  However, I chose to write about this book because it is one that I would like to use as part of a lesson or read aloud to students.  I think this book touches on the topic in a really positive way that is not overwhelming to students who might not be as familiar with this issue because the plot is, for the most part, familiar.  Basically, this book presents the topic in such a way that I would feel comfortable as a teacher addressing it and tackling any questions.  I think this would be a great one to use with a lesson on fairy tales.  I would introduce this book, after having read a fairy tale with a similar plot line, by saying, “Now we are going to read a story that is very much like the one we just read but a little bit different.  After the story we are going to talk about what was different about the two stories and what is the same about the two stories.  Just like all other books we read, you might feel confused, happy, surprised, amused, sad, mad, excited, or you might feel nothing after I read this book.  Whatever you feel is ok and we can talk about it after wards.”  I would leave ample time to discuss how this book compared to other fairy tales they’ve heard and the feelings they had about the book.  Since this book is geared toward younger children, I think students may inquiry as to why the prince wanted to marry another prince instead of a princess.  I would open this question up for student hypotheses and would conclude the discussion by talking about how we are all different and we all like different things.  Some kids like the color green, while others like yellow.  Some kids like the mountains, while others like the sea.  Some kids love pizza, while others love cheese burgers.  Some princes wanted to marry a princess, while others prefer princes.  None of these preferences make someone better that someone else.  They just make us unique and special.      
Year Published:  2002         
Notable Information: Potential presidential candiates have been asked to give opinions on the book, has been on some banned book lists, some groups have requested a sequel about the couple adopting a child