Review: Tiny Tyrant Volume 2: The Lucky Winner

Looking for an entertaining read? One that’s much like a Saturday Morning Cartoon? Then Tiny Tyrant is the perfect pick for you.

Tiny Tyrant Volume 2: The Lucky Winner
Lewis Trondheim & Fabrice Parme
Publisher’s Age Recommendation 8 & up
My Suggested Age Recommendation 8 & up
First Second, September 2009, 978-1-59643-523-0
64 pp, $9.99 (pbk)

We first met King Ethelbert in volume 1 of Tiny Tyrant and discovered he was rude, spoiled and funny.   In volume 2, King Ethelbert is still small, spoiled, and good for a few laughs.  In this latest edition, the king tries to impress his young cousin with modern technology. One of his servants is whispering in his ear, “translating” and feeding the king the best possible lines. But it all goes haywire.  The king’s adventures continue as he uses his royal rights to steal an exciting vacation from a contest winner.  Ethelbert is sorely disappointed though when he realizes that slumming it with the ordinary folks isn’t quite that much fun. He helps track down the criminals who are illegally using his face on toys…. It’s hard to tell who’s duped at the end!  He evades a murderous relative, plays with machines he doesn’t understand and tries to write his own biography.  Each story, which can be read on its own, is riddled with humor.  Young readers will enjoy the antics and slapstick comedy.

By enlarging the overall size of the book, first second improved its Tiny Tyrant series.  The illustrations aren’t so tiny anymore and readers can pay more attention to the comical details.  There’s as much humor in the drawings as there are in the text.

For a fun, light read, give young readers a chance to meet King Ethelbert.  And adults might not think their kids seem so spoiled after reading a volume or two of Tiny Tyrant.

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