King Rollo and the Birthday
Publisher: Andersen Press
It’s Queen Gwen’s birthday and King Rollo goes out to buy her a card. Yet when he brings it home, Cook doesn’t think much of it and says he should draw one himself for the Queen. Getting out his best pens and pencils, Rollo works hard at drawing a lovely card for the Queen. When he gets to the palace for the party, the Queen is delighted with her hand-drawn card: everyone else has bought her the same one and only Rollo’s is different.
The King Rollo books are ideal for a younger preschool readership (or, listener-ship), focused on simple stories based on everyday activities. King Rollo and the Birthday is a great reminder to kids that grown-ups really love a hand-drawn card and it’s nice to dedicate a bit of time and effort in making something as good as you can.
David McKee’s Rollo drawings perfectly suit the age group, with bright colours and simple sequences and Rollo himself whose simple features nonetheless have tons of cheeky character.
