Review - The Barefoot King

The Barefoot King
by Andrew Nance
illustrated by Olivia Holden
Date: 2020
Publisher: Bala Kids
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

A lighthearted story about the consequences of rash decisions and the importance of problem solving, responsibility, and acceptance for kids ages 4-8.

Told in rhyming couplets, The Barefoot King recounts the story of a young king named Creet who rules a land where people walk around with bare feet. Easily distracted, one day King Creet stubs his toe on a rock and is shocked by the pain. Never wanting to experience that discomfort again, the king decides to cover his whole kingdom in leather, with unfortunate consequences.

This short and silly story helps parents discuss concepts of acceptance, awareness, and responsibility with kids. Seeing the consequences of King Creet's decision, kids will learn to navigate challenges in their own lives and the opportunities for growth that obstacles provide. A short "reader's guide" accompanies the story, aiding parents and teachers in discussions of how to handle life's bumps with conscious breaths and mindful steps.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is supposedly a book about mindfulness, but I actually found that part of the story kind of forced. The basic gist is that there's a kingdom where everybody goes barefoot. One day, the king stubs his toe. He freaks out and orders that the whole kingdom be covered in leather so it won't happen again. But the leather makes problems of its own. The crops can't grow. The leather gets too hot in the sun, and very slippery in the rain. So the king freaks out again and goes to his ministers. One of them gives him some speech about mindfulness and awareness before coming to the point: they should wear leather on their feet instead.

The whole mindfulness thing just feels shoehorned in there. And what was the king supposed to do? He was paying attention to his surroundings when he was "distracted" by the birds. Our brains can't pay attention to a bunch of things at once (which is why there are so many videos out there of people walking into poles while texting). I think I would have preferred it if the story had either just had the fable aspect (how shoes were invented) or had made the king distracted by something other than the natural world (because we're always telling kids how important it is to notice and appreciate nature; do we really want to be telling them to keep their heads down and miss the beauty of the world because they might stub their toe?).

The illustrations... Well, I sort of like them and I sort of don't. I don't particularly like the style. But I love the lush colour palette. So my reaction there is kind of mixed.

Overall, this is fine if you're looking for folktale-like stories about how things came to be. In that respect, it works. As far as teaching about mindfulness, though... I think it kind of missed the mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bala Kids for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: 2/5
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3 out of 5