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Synopsis
Although each has what the other needs, the rulers of the Kingdom of Midnight and the Kingdom of the Desert are too proud to ask for what they want.
Children's Literature
In another of her inspired stories, Sasso unfolds a simple but grand fable about an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. The protagonists are the Grand Prince of the Kingdom of Midnight, "where the land was lush because water was plenty, but there was no oil to light the lamps" and the Grand Princess of the Kingdom of the Desert, "a land that sparkled with light, but there was no water to grow gardens." Each decides to follow the advice of a roving minstrel and travel to see the other's land. But each is too haughty to make the first move to solve their mutual problems, causing God to be sad. Eventually, both the Prince and the Princess turn, petrified feet first, into mountains, still unwilling to take the first step. Luckily, this is not where the story ends. The artist does a superb job with his alternating blue-cold and yellow-warm pages depicting the plenty and scarcity of the two countries until the colors merge happily at story's end. This one is a keeper for all ages, all peoples, and all religions. 2000, Jewish Lights, Ages 4 to 10, $16.95. Reviewer: Judy Chernak—Children's Literature