Tiny Tyrant: The Ethelbertosaurus

Welcome to Portocristo; its clear skies, sandy beaches, bustling streets - and its spoiled rotten, six-year-old king.

The little despot is grouchy, whiny, and demanding - everything you'd hate to find in a boy on a throne. But here in Portocristo, anything he says goes, no matter how bizarre or harebrained. Prepare for zaniness as young King Ethelbert transports himself back in time to meet a dinosaur, swaps his country's kids for Ethelbert robots, tests his bodyguard's mettle by putting a price on his own head, and shrinks the world down to his size.

Trondheim's wacky, inventive writing, coupled with Fabrice Parme's artwork, evoke the classic, madcap styles of Mr. Magoo and the Pink Panther and make each of these twelve stories as memorable as an accidental jaunt through the Cretaceous period.

Publishers Weekly

Selfish, short-tempered, unscrupulous, stubborn, and willing to do anything to get what he wants" that's King Ethelbert, the pint-size monarch of the nation of Portocristo in Trondheim's hilarious series of illustrated stories, originally serialized between 2001 and 2004. Ethelbert rules the way any six-year-old would requiring his chef to build gigantic sundaes so he can eat just one bite, demanding to see Santa Claus in person, passing a law that makes him the automatic winner of all television game shows ("The King of Portocristo ran his country as a pig might an aircraft carrier," writes his court biographer). Even his good intentions end up going spectacularly wrong, as when he decides to make amends to the parents of his kingdom for a botched plan by sending each family a live alligator ("That way, parents will be able to make fashionable backpacks for their children." An ongoing competition with his cousin Sigismund for the hand of the wealthy Princess Hildegardina provides a bit of continuity to the chapters, but by and large it is a collection of brief, stand-alone episodes, rendered in a quirky visual style that channels a blend of The Pink Pantherand John Kricfalusi. Ages 8-up. (May)

A phenomenally prolific and well-regarded artist and writer, Lewis Trondheim has published more than 35 books in the last ten years. He is one of the leading figures in French comics, and is a co-founder of the alternative publishing house L'Association. Hilarious and caustic, he has a huge international following.

Fabrice Parme has illustrated two books by Lewis Trondheim. He has a background in animation, and his drawings have been published in magazines throughout France.