{"id":33834,"date":"2018-01-20T23:22:27","date_gmt":"2018-01-21T03:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33834"},"modified":"2018-01-20T23:22:27","modified_gmt":"2018-01-21T03:22:27","slug":"review-of-the-purloining-of-prince-oleomargarine-by-mark-twain-and-philip-stead-with-illustrations-by-erin-stead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=33834","title":{"rendered":"Review of The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine, by Mark Twain and Philip Stead, with illustrations by Erin Stead"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine<\/em><\/p>\n

by Mark Twain
\nand Philip Stead
\nwith illustrations by Erin Stead<\/p>\n

Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2017. 152 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Oh, this is such a lovely book! The story is based on 16 pages of notes discovered in Mark Twain\u2019s papers. It was discovered by a researcher hoping to write a Twain cookbook \u2013 found because of the word \u201cOleomargarine.\u201d Mark Twain House & Museum authorized Philip and Erin Stead to make a book from those notes, which were based on a story Mark Twain spun for his daughters at bedtime while in a Paris hotel.<\/p>\n

The result is delightful. Philip Stead retained Mark Twain\u2019s folksy style. He presents it as a conversation with Mark Twain \u2013 but where Mark Twain disappears right before the story ends. He includes some discussion between the two authors. Here\u2019s a small example:<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did she know she was a fairy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause,\u201d answered Twain, \u201cthe woman in question was only four and a half inches tall. It was the scientific conclusion to make. Now, let\u2019s try not to interrupt, shall we?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The story turns out to be a gentle one \u2013 about a boy named Johnny who, through his kindness, receives the gift of understanding the speech of animals and gains a family of animal friends. The animal friends are observant and know what happened when Prince Oleomargarine disappeared, so they tell Johnny.<\/p>\n

The story is presented in picture book format, with Erin Stead\u2019s delicate woodcut illustrations on each spread, and many spreads with few words or no words at all. It\u2019s a book to savor slowly and would make magnificent classroom reading or for reading aloud at bedtime for a sequence of nights (imitating the original creation of the story).<\/p>\n

Okay, I was browsing through the book for the delightful language, and found a part I simply have to quote. This is supposedly what Mark Twain said to Philip Stead as he was relating the story, and is off on quite a tangent from the tale of Johnny. It started with a skunk who was the first to befriend Johnny.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course,\u201d he added, \u201cI could have saved myself \u2013 and Johnny \u2013 from the silly prejudices of the unenlightened. I could have lied and said porcupine<\/em> or kangaroo<\/em> instead of skunk<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if I lie to you once, you will never trust me again. And if history is our guide, our entire undertaking will be lost \u2013 <\/p>\n

\u201cNapoleon,\u201d he explained, \u201clied to his men at Waterloo. He said: We are going to have a great time!<\/em> They did not.<\/p>\n

\u201cKing Henry VIII lied to Anne Boleyn, and the whole thing caused nothing but headaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are other examples, too! \u2013<\/p>\n

\u201cConsider George Washington. He made an awful stink about the nobleness of truth telling after<\/em> the fact, but the sad reality is this \u2013 he looked that cherry tree in the face and told it: This won\u2019t hurt a bit.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHistory tells us these things. And we can trust history on the matter of lies because history is mostly<\/em> lies, along with some exaggerations.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Spend some time savoring this uplifting and ultimately very silly story.<\/p>\n

Here are Twain\u2019s notes: (Much better in this book form!)
\nhttp:\/\/admin.rhcbooks.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Twain-fragment.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

randomhousekids.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Fiction\/prince_oleomargarine.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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