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Overview
Long ago in Italy, a mighty asparagus grew smack-dab in front of the king's castle. Was the king happy about it? No. The asparagus had to go. But how does a king reason with an asparagus of such stature?
With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Vladimir Radunsky tells the uproarious tale of an almost immovable vegetable. Drawing on Italian Renaissance art, the esteemed artist creates a breathtaking magical kingdom, where it's easy to imagine that such an asparagus existed. His artwork is as gorgeous as it is funny. Although the old masters may turn over in their graves, readers of all ages will clamor for more of The Mighty Asparagus.
A large asparagus appears suddenly in the king's back yard, and he enlists the help of several people and animals, including a songbird, in order to get rid of it.
Synopsis
Long ago in Italy, a mighty asparagus grew smack-dab in front of the king's castle. Was the king happy about it? No. The asparagus had to go. But how does a king reason with an asparagus of such stature?
With tongue planted firmly in cheek, Vladimir Radunsky tells the uproarious tale of an almost immovable vegetable. Drawing on Italian Renaissance art, the esteemed artist creates a breathtaking magical kingdom, where it's easy to imagine that such an asparagus existed. His artwork is as gorgeous as it is funny. Although the old masters may turn over in their graves, readers of all ages will clamor for more of The Mighty Asparagus.
Child Magazine
An asparagus, as tall as a tower, sprouts up in the king's yard. Despite all the efforts of the king, the queen, a knight, and even a rhino, it seems that nothing can uproot it-until a bird flutters its wings "andthe humongous, stupendous, splendid, catastrophic vegetable collapsed!" Underneath the snappy asides and caricatures mixed with Italian Renaissance paintings is a message: Everyone's contributions count, no matter how small. (Ages 6 to 8)
Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2004
Editorials
From The Critics
An asparagus, as tall as a tower, sprouts up in the king's yard. Despite all the efforts of the king, the queen, a knight, and even a rhino, it seems that nothing can uproot it-until a bird flutters its wings "andthe humongous, stupendous, splendid, catastrophic vegetable collapsed!" Underneath the snappy asides and caricatures mixed with Italian Renaissance paintings is a message: Everyone's contributions count, no matter how small. (Ages 6 to 8)Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2004
Publishers Weekly
In Radunsky's (Mannekin Pis) gleefully subversive retelling of the Russian folktale "The Turnip," he spoofs Renaissance paintings for his illustrations and changes the locale to an Italianate royal family's court. To the horror of the macho king, a huge, indubitably phallic asparagus stalk pops up in his yard, dominating the palace (and the spreads): "Oh, I hate that stinky asparagus!" he cries. The queen and blushing princess, however, gaze longingly at the enormous vegetable (the princess squeals, "Give it to me now! I want to gobble it up!"; "Funny, I thought that children hated asparagus," the narrator slyly comments). The wink-wink, nudge-nudge jokes to the adults threaten to overwhelm the early pages, but the author/ artist eventually wrestles the satire back on track. Ever the iconoclast, Radunsky raids Italian masterpieces and apologizes to their artists in an arch dedication ("thank you and sorry"). The bumbling king, in his crimson hat and cape, comes from Piero della Francesca, for example, while his imperious advisers are lifted from Andrea Mantegna. Radunsky distorts the characters' haughty faces into Terry Gilliam-esque gooniness, showing readers that museum art (like legendary turnips and asparagus) can withstand a healthy satirical tweaking or two. Ages 5-9. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
An "amazing" enormous asparagus appears one day right in the king's yard. He finds it ugly, so tries but can't pull it out. The queen thinks it is beautiful enough to move to the palace, but she and the king together can't budge it. The princess wants to "gobble it up." She joins the king's rhino and the bravest knight as they all pull together, in vain. The king finally asks his mother for help. She has the answer. "You should always listen to your mother" is only one of the comments made by those watching as the asparagus finally collapses on a spectacular fold-out. In a typical Radunsky crazy, wild finale, the king composes a ballad of celebration to be sung by all. Pieces of reproductions of 16th century Renaissance paintings are combined with the artist's own comic creations to produce an almost surreal but oddly cohesive narrative, visually and verbally absurd but of course humorous. There are no clues to where the paintings are from. The reader must read everything, including the jacket flaps and back, the end-papers, the title page notes, and all the pictures to "get it" all. 2004, Silver Whistle/Harcourt, Ages 6 to 12.—Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz