The King's Golden Beard

Who's to blame when a vain, heedless king meets his comeuppance? He is, of course! Fans of Tomi Ungerer's mischievous humor and Jon Agee's sly morality tales will be delighted by this hilarious read-aloud about a long, long beard and its short-sighted royal owner, by a popular Belgian illustrator, designer, and animation whiz.

The lush, golden royal beard is a wondrous thing - especially to the king himself. He spends his days admiring and grooming it, and passes laws making it a crime punishable by death for anyone else's face to sport even a single hair. As the people of the kingdom nervously shave daily, the royal beard grows and grows until it appears at the palace's back gate. What happens next will have readers laughing along -- and cheering for the astronomers who, unlike the tyrannical king, know that the earth is round.

Klaas Verplancke is an author, illustrator, animator and professor of illustration whose clients include The New Yorker, The New York Times, and MOMA. A finalist for the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for illustration and a frequent nominee for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, Verplancke has written and illustrated books that have won the prestigious Bologna Ragazzi Award and been selected for the White Raven and IBBY Honor lists. In the spring of 2020, his animated poster "Save Lives. Live Safe. #keepdistance" appeared on Times Square screens, the double-sided Lincoln Tunnel billboard, and 1,800 linkNYC screens throughout New York City and was promoted via interviews on PBS Newshour and more.