Review - The Kingdom of Glee

The Kingdom of Glee
by Nicholas Tana
illustrated by Jessica Abbott & Elise Leutwyler
Date: 2019
Publisher: New Classics Books
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 42
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

A mean wizard sends three monsters to torment the Kingdom of Glee led by King Gentle, with the hope of discovering: why the people living there are so happy? One-by-one the monsters’ plans are spoiled, until the wizard succeeds in discovering a secret that changes his life, forever. This stunning addition to the New Classics Books collection contains a heartfelt story with gorgeous illustrations destined to delight both children and adults for years to come.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a simple, colourful picture book with a message that kind of hits the reader over the head. The resolution is facile and unrealistic... but kids might enjoy it more than adults.

In the Kingdom of Glee, everyone is happy because they share and care and love one another. In the neighbouring Kingdom of Angry lives a wizard who thinks that the people of Glee are happy because they have gold. (I don't know why he thinks this; he just does.) So he sends monsters to torment Glee, hoping that when they're done, King Gentle will give up his gold. But, of course, that's not what happens. King Gentle turns the monsters around, leading to the conclusion where the final monster tells the wizard the real secret to Glee's happiness... and the wizard accepts it without question and everyone lives happily ever after.

It's really too easy of a resolution, and deeply unsatisfying. The wizard could've at least shown a bit of doubt, or pushed back a bit. His turnaround is so sudden that I thought that maybe he was faking it as a way to further antagonize King Gentle and his people. But... no. What you see is what you get.

Because of this, I don't think any but the youngest of readers would really enjoy the story. The illustrations are colourful and sort of cute (and show a lot of diversity for a fairy-tale kingdom), but the story is too trite to really work as a moral fable. (Also on the topic of the illustrations, I'm not crazy about the cover. I wish it had some of the characters on it. A picture of a castle doesn't really do much to intrigue potential readers.)

Thank you to NetGalley and New Classics Books for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: 2/5
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.43 out of 5