The King's Golden Beard

A tyrannical king is proud of his lush golden beard. He spends his days admiring and grooming it, and passes laws that make it a crime punishable by death for anyone else’s face to sport even a single hair. Whereas all his subjects take care every day that their jaws are smoothly shaven, the royal beard keeps right on growing, all the way round the world. One day the beard squirms in through the back door of the palace. The furious king, who thinks the earth is flat, orders his soldiers to hack its owner to pieces...

‘The King’s Golden Beard’ is an allegorical fairy tale as absurd as it is topical, with delightful humour. It makes children think about the meaning of power and the use of power, and demonstrates the dangers of dictatorial rulers. The lively pictures with their exceptional use of colour and ingenious composition complement the surrealist, slightly absurdist tone of the narrative beautifully. Verplancke’s wicked humour and witty stories have already prompted comparisons with Tomi Ungerer, Jon Agee and Jon Klassen.