CM Magazine:The Lost Crown of Meleor.

________________ CM . . . . Volume VII Number 4 . . . . October 20, 2000

The Lost Crown of Meleor.

George Teply.
Toronto, ON: Annick Press, 2000. 32 pp., pbk. & cl., $7.95 (pbk.), $16.95 (cl.).
ISBN 1-55037-600-4 (pbk.), ISBN 1-55037-601-2 (cl.).

Preschool - grade 2 / Ages 4 - 7.

Review by Joan Payzant.

*** /4

excerpt:

The Princess started saying that the sky was without a cloud. Instead, she said, "Here comes Quikqueek. What happened, Quikqueek? You don't look very happy."
"Princess," Quikqueek sniffled, "I have dropped your beautiful Crown into a well! What am I to do?"
The Princess didn't think it was such a big deal. She said, "Don't worry, Quikqueek, it could happen to anybody. Besides, it shouldn't be difficult to fish the Crown out."

In this rather silly story, author George Teply, an architect, has created little creatures with weird names and nonsensical shapes. It takes more than one reading to get acquainted with the cast of characters and to absorb the humorous details of the illustrations, such as Teply's depiction of the lemonade well and the cheesecake tree. Children will appreciate the unusual shapes of Quikqueek, Bimbin, the Princess and their friends, and will want to hear the fanciful tale over and over. Like all good fairy tales, it has a happy ending.
Although young children may delight in both story and illustrations, to me, it was rather forced, without strong continuity and a flat sort of ending. I reminded myself that there aren't that many authors/writers of Dr. Seuss' caliber and that maybe I was expecting too much.

Recommended.

Joan Payzant is a former teacher-librarian of Dartmouth, NS.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - October 20, 2000.