The King With Six Friends — Children's Book Review

The King With Six Friends, By Jay Williams (1968, Parents Magazine Press, Out of Print), is my husband's childhood favorite children's picture book. The story is an engaging adventure of the out-of-work King Zar and the friends he meets along the way. This book is cleverly written, with many humorous lines that adults will appreciate, and the message of friendship, loyalty, and leadership is appealing to all ages. This book has been reprinted in library binding form by Macmillan Publishing, but if you want the original title as it appears here, you will want to look to used booksellers.

At the beginning of the tale, we discover King Zar, an out-of-work king with no kingdom to rule. Through youth and inexperience he has lost his kingdom, his castle, and even his crown to a stronger king. The quest adventure is his story of regaining a kingdom and the right to rule with the help of his magical six friends, whom he meets along the way.

"Zar had twelve gold pieces, a suit of clothes, and a sword. So he set out to find work. The road was long and the world was wide. He went to many lands, but no one wanted to hire a king without a kingdom. He had never known what it was to be hungry or thirsty or tired before, but now he learned. Fortunately, as a king, Zar had already learned how to meet happiness or unhappiness with the same cheerful smile."

Zar sets upon his adventure, and helps six magical people, each in a predicament. These new friends decide to join him on his journey. His six friends are Edge, Kindle, Eryx, Furze, Agus and Dumble. For example, Edge, a sharp-nosed man who can turn himself into an axe, has become stuck in a log. Zar frees him, and Edge shows his gratitude by joining the expedition and using his skills to help on the way.

At length, Zar and his friends come upon a fine kingdom ruled by Invictus XV, The Ever Glorious, who despite his magnificent name, has a nail-biting problem. The proud Invictus has a beautiful daughter he wishes to marry to a king, but has been unable to find a king who is both unmarried and able to prove himself worthy of the impossible tasks Invictus sets to him.

Zar introduces himself to Invictus, proposing that he will be a good match for the princess.

"King Invictus stroked his beard. 'That may be so,' he said. 'However, you must admit there are problems. A king with no kingdom is not much of a match. And my daughter is very rich.'

'When I marry her, I will be rich too,' Zar pointed out."

Published in 1968, this story follows a traditional folktale quest format. The illustrations by Imero Gobbato are exquisite, detailed watercolor renderings in subdued hues of blue, grey, sepia and gold, but more subtle than what many readers have come to expect from modern illustrations, which tend to use more eye-popping colors.

The King with Six Friends includes many traditional fairy tale elements, including a princess whose main purpose in life is to be married off. This story contains no strong female characters, but don't be disappointed. Williams' story Petronella (Originally published in 1973, and republished in 2000 by Moon Mountain Publishing) features a strong princess who is a match for the Paper Bag Princess, so keep that in mind for your next read.

This story includes many fantasy elements that will keep young children attentive and engaged, but the central theme of leadership makes it unique. King Zar is not perfect. He has lost his kingdom and finds himself a penniless beggar. But he sets out on a journey to better himself despite his mistakes, and this is a lesson anyone can appreciate. Although the lesson of this story is unmistakable, it doesn't read as a morality tale. I give this children's story a great big thumbs up!

This story is lengthy, and though well-paced, not appropriate for reading aloud to a preschool group audience. This book, with its emphasis on leadership, friendship, cooperation, and its problem-solution format, is quite appropriate for reading to a first or second grade classroom.

• Fantasy
• Fairy Tale
• Kings
• Princess
• Friendship
• Leadership
• Cooperation
• Magic
• Overcoming Obstacles
• Helping Others
• Quest genre
• Humor

• The Cookie Tree (1973, Parents Magazine Press)
• Petronella (1974, Parents Magazine Press)

This story is lengthy, and though well-paced, not appropriate for reading aloud to group audience younger than first or second grade. This book, with its emphasis on leadership, friendship, cooperation, and its problem-solution format, is quite appropriate for reading to a first or second grade classroom.

This book will be an appropriate late-picture book to help you bridge into chapter book reading. I would categorize this book as a late first or early second grade read-alone story.

I feel that most pre-k age children do not have the attention span needed to read through the entire story. Obviously some children will be the exception, but when selecting books for children's story hour situations, choose something a little less lengthy if you want to hold most of your group's attention.

The King With Six Friends is cited in author Joan M. Wolf's book, The Beanstalk and Beyond: Developing Critical Thinking Through Fairy Tales.

This book includes suggestions for using fairy tales in critical thinking and creative writing within lesson plans.

Additional Lesson Helps Online Featuring Fairy Tales

• What Makes a Fairy Tale a Fairy Tale?
• Fairy Tale Book Report Form from ABC Teach
• Fairy Tale Character Report Form from ABC Teach
• Fairy Tale Writing Prompts from ABC Teach