Katarina Jovanovic

Every time the king has a haircut, a new barber is summoned to the palace to do the job, and is then never seen again. In fact, the barbers are then employed in the palace, because if they were to ever leave they would share the King’s secret: he has goat ears. When young barber Miro is summoned to the palace to cut the King’s hair, he compliments the king, and is allowed to go back into the town. Of course, he now has a burning desire to tell everyone his secret, and must be content to yell the secret into a hole. Unfortunately for Miro, when the shoots grow out of the ground in the spring they whisper ever so gently ‘the king has goat ears…the king has goat ears’, and the secret is out…
This picture book is Jovanovic’s first picture book for children, and is a retelling of an ancient Serbian folktale. The book is wonderfully illustrated by Philippe Beha; he uses collage and bold illustrations to enhance the story; the pictures of the king admiring his goat ears are lovely! The book is a great read aloud, and has been popular in my library with all grades. It works particularly well when discussing issues such as body image, secrets and loyalty with a class, and can also be enjoyed by a wide variety of readers.

Also posted at http://manybooksmanyvoices.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/the-king-has-goat-ears-by-ka...… (more)