Loading…
The King's Taster
Add a Comment
Add Tags
Add More
Add to my Collection
Mark for Later
Save to a ListItem Details
The royal chef takes Max the dog, the royal taster, on several international journeys to find a dish for the land's pickiest king.
Max - () King's tester of food
Publishers Weekly
Why won't the new king eat the cook's magnificent food? Max, the cheery, bespectacled hound who narrates the story, used to taste the king's food to test for poison; now he spends most of his time consoling the cook. In an attempt to satisfy the fussy king-a small boy with a wobbly crown and a horrible scowl-Max and the cook travel the world in search of the rarest delicacies-French fries, pizza, chili tacos-to no avail. When Max discovers the king snacking on the sly, ruining his appetite, he alerts the cook. "I will tell your mother," the cook promises the small king. "You wouldn't," replies the king. "I would," says the cook, "and I will." With the boy finally "eating like a king," success and reward for the cook and his dog follow. Oppel (Airborn) cooks up punchy, ready-for-television dialogue, while the rich, textural spreads of Johnson and Fancher (What a Good Big Brother) make use of unexpected materials-recipe cards for the cook's clothing, for instance-and kid-pleasing details, as when the king splatters a whole pizza against a wall via catapult. Ages 3-6. (June) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
School Library Journal
K-Gr 3-Being the royal food taster is a treat for Max the dog-until the arrival of a new monarch. Suddenly the cook's delectable meals don't cut it anymore-this king is a picky little boy. Max and the cook travel extensively, looking for new recipes for the temperamental royal, but French fries, tacos, and even pizza are rejected. Soon Max discovers that the king isn't eating because he is gorging himself on sweets every night. Mystery solved, the boy eats, and the cook's life is saved. Oppel's writing is lush: ".and in the Piazza San Marco, we learned of fabulous breads and herbs, sausages and cheeses." Kids will be familiar with the foods Max and the cook discover around the world, but their curiosity will be piqued when they read about peacock, venison, syllabub, and rose puddings. The illustrations were done with a layered mix of acrylic and collage with liberal use of handwritten and printed recipes as backgrounds to create the rich and textured art. Astute children will see the conclusion coming-the king has chocolate wrappers peeking out of his crown throughout the story.-Laura Lutz, Queens Borough Public Library, NY Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
Booklist
*Starred Review* Max loves his job as the cook's dog and the king's taster, making sure the food isn't poisoned. He enthuses, My name's Max and I eat like a king. However, when the new king (a young boy) refuses to eat the food, Max and the cook go in search of kitchens in Paris, Italy, and Mexico for tasty new recipes, but French fries, pizza, and chili tacos are all rejected. Off with his head! orders the king. Unable to sleep that night, Max follows a shadow scuttling out of the kitchen; he wakes the cook and they peek through the keyhole. There is His Highness sitting in bed eating candy licorices, ginger cookies, and huge hunks of marzipan! When the cook threatens to tell his mother, the king relents, and, at last, eats everything on the plate. The mixed-media illustrations are deliciously capricious with clever collage details for example, the cook's jacket is constructed of photographed fabric with handwritten recipes all over it, and the beagle, Max, for some goofy reason, wears glasses. Kids will relish this comic culinary calamity, especially the peek-a-boo sight of the king in his accidentally revealing pjs. A crackerjack treat.--Cummins, Julie Copyright 2009 Booklist
Community Activity
Summaries
There are no summaries for this title.
Quotes
There are no quotes for this title.
Notices
There are no notices for this title.
Age
There are no ages for this title.
Videos
The King's Taster
A reading from "The King's Taster", by Kenneth Oppel
The King's Taster
A reading from "The King's Taster", by Kenneth Oppel
Find it at EPL
Connect With Others
Other users with this title in their collections
Comments
There are no comments for this title.