So silly. And yet, so entertaining. That’s one of the ways to describe The Hero’s Guide to Saving the Kingdom, by Christopher Healy, which is one of those books that had been on my read-aloud radar for some time. Luckily, I remembered it when my son and I found gap in our reading, and he really enjoyed Hero’s Guide. So did I.
Healy takes the standard fairy tale tropes — witches, Prince Charming, damsels in distress, and more — and jumbles them all up in a hilarious retelling of what happens when heroes get their pride wounded by songwriters who fail to tell the truth. Plus, add in a diabolical witch with an axe to grind — and a giant, some dwarfs, trolls and other creatures — and a quartet of princes whose stories become the legend of Prince Charming, and you have a lot of action and slapstick comedy. And don’t forget those so-called damsels in distress, who turn out to be fiercely independent on their own — thank you very much — and hardly ever need “saving.”
But the entire kingdom does, and the four princes band together, with some help from a few princesses, to save the kingdom and the kidnapped bard songwriters from the witch. This book has a great pacing, and fun characters, and we had such a blast reading it out loud that we are now deep into the sequel: The Hero’s Guide to Storming the Castle. It’s as fun as the first.
Peace (in the twist),
Kevin