King Hugo's Huge Ego

( 1 )
Pick Up In Store

Pick Up in Store

Reserve and pick up in 60 minutes at your local store

Hardcover
$13.70
BN.com price
$16.99 List Price (Save 19%)
Marketplace (New and Used)
from
$5.20
$16.99 List Price (Save 69%)
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
All (41)  
Used (14)  
New (27)  
Close
Sort by
Page 1 of 5
Showing 1 – 10 of 41 (5 pages)
$5.20
(Save 69%)
PlumCircle PA
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(4429)

Condition:

New — never opened or used in original packaging.

Like New — packaging may have been opened. A "Like New" item is suitable to give as a gift.

Very Good — may have minor signs of wear on packaging but item works perfectly and has no damage.

Good — item is in good condition but packaging may have signs of shelf wear/aging or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Acceptable — item is in working order but may show signs of wear such as scratches or torn packaging. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Used — An item that has been opened and may show signs of wear. All specific defects should be noted in the Comments section associated with each item.

Refurbished — A used item that has been renewed or updated and verified to be in proper working condition. Not necessarily completed by the original manufacturer.

Good
2011 Hardcover Somewhat damaged. Issue such as: bumped corner, torn DJ, dust soil, etc. GOOD reading copy.

Ships from: West Mifflin, PA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.00
(Save 65%)
Purple Turtle Products MA
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(376)

Condition: Very Good
Hardcover Very Good 0763650048 New, never read, may have minor wear on cover from being on a retail store shelf.

Ships from: Lakeville, MA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.00
(Save 65%)
PlumCircle PA
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(4429)

Condition: Very Good
2011 Hardcover Very good Unread book with minor shelf wear.

Ships from: West Mifflin, PA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$6.93
(Save 59%)
PlumCircle PA
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(4429)

Condition: Like New
2011 Hardcover Fine New, unread book in excellent condition.

Ships from: West Mifflin, PA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$7.55
(Save 56%)
Purple Turtle Products MA
Seller since 2006

Feedback rating:

(376)

Condition: New
Hardcover New 0763650048 New, never read, may have minor wear on cover from being on a retail store shelf.

Ships from: Lakeville, MA

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$7.99
(Save 53%)
Burnsy's Books CO
Seller since 2005

Feedback rating:

(278)

Condition: Good
7/26/2011 Hardcover Good in good dust jacket. GOOD condition. Library stamps and markings. Fast ship and satisfaction is always guaranteed.

Ships from: Larkspur, CO

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Canadian
  • •International
  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$8.36
(Save 51%)
McKenzie Books
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(4585)

Condition: Like New
Dust jacket has slight shelf wear. Cover, binding, and pages are excellent. Text appears unmarked. Ships the next business day, with tracking and delivery confirmation sent to ... your email. Read more Show Less

Ships from: Beaverton, OR

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
$9.22
(Save 46%)
PaperbackshopUS
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(4793)

Condition: New
Shipped from US in 4 to 14 business days. Established seller since 2000

Ships from: Aurora, IL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$9.85
(Save 42%)
PaperbackshopUS
Seller since 2009

Feedback rating:

(4793)

Condition: New
Shipped from US in 4 to 14 business days. Established seller since 2000

Ships from: Aurora, IL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
$9.85
(Save 42%)
ExpeditedBooksUS
Seller since 2010

Feedback rating:

(887)

Condition: New
Shipped from US. Express shipping in 3 to 6 business days. Standard shipping in 4 to 14 business days. Established seller since 2000

Ships from: Aurora, IL

Usually ships in 1-2 business days

  • •Standard, 48 States
  • •Standard (AK, HI)
  • •Express, 48 States
  • •Express (AK, HI)
Page 1 of 5
Showing 1 – 10 of 41 (5 pages)
Close
Sort by

Overview

From a master of visual comedy comes the royally satisfying tale of a head swollen out of proportion and a blowhard brought down to earth.

Hugo is a tiny king with a very large ego. But when he mistreats a villager who also happens to be a sorceress, the spell she casts causes his head to literally swell. The more he boasts, the bigger it gets, until it finally topples the mini monarch right off his castle! Who will cut this royal pain down to size? And, more important, will anyone live happily ever after? Chris Van Dusen’s hilarious story is matched only by his outrageous illustrations. Together, they make for a picture book that is sometimes fairy ...

See more details below
Note: Kids' Club Eligible. See More Details.
Sending request ...

More About This Book

Overview

From a master of visual comedy comes the royally satisfying tale of a head swollen out of proportion and a blowhard brought down to earth.

Hugo is a tiny king with a very large ego. But when he mistreats a villager who also happens to be a sorceress, the spell she casts causes his head to literally swell. The more he boasts, the bigger it gets, until it finally topples the mini monarch right off his castle! Who will cut this royal pain down to size? And, more important, will anyone live happily ever after? Chris Van Dusen’s hilarious story is matched only by his outrageous illustrations. Together, they make for a picture book that is sometimes fairy tale, sometimes cautionary tale, and always laugh-out loud funny.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
"Long ago, when people spoke/ with words like ‘thou' and ‘thee,' " a Napoleonic figure (in attitude and physical stature) named King Hugo ruled supreme. While his subjects think he's a joke, they have no choice but abjection: they bow low when he passes by and pretend to listen his "Speech of Adoration," a weekly hours-long "boring buzz/ of how mighty and magnificent/ King Hugo thought he was." Comeuppance takes the form of a comely, feisty peasant maid named Tessa, who, unbeknownst to the king, is also a sorceress. "Let's see if all your arrogance/ can fit inside your head," she says, and sure enough, "his head kept bloating,/ bulging bigger every day" with each narcissistic act, until he looks like a bobble head doll on steroids. A life lesson and true love tie up the loose ends, but not before readers are treated to a terrific mélange of satire, slapstick, and caricature, all served up with expert comic timing. Van Dusen (The Circus Ship) may be puncturing the myth of infallible monarchy, but readers will have no trouble pledging obeisance to his comic majesty. Ages 3–6. (Aug.)
Children's Literature
Jolly rhymes tell a tale of "long ago," when a small king named Hugo thinks very highly of himself. Believing that he is wonderful, he makes his subjects bow to him as he strides cockily by. Every Friday morning, all his subjects must assemble to listen to him speak for hours on his magnificence. One day, as he is driving down the road, a girl named Tessa, carrying a heavy load, blocks his golden coach. She does not want to step aside and bow. So the king orders the coach to bump her off the road. Angry Tessa casts a spell on King Hugo. What happens as his head swells to match his pride makes for very funny consequences and a surprise happy ending. This original fairy tale is brightly painted in gouache on large single and double pages in cartoon style. Much of the humor is in the details: even the sheep kneel as the king drives by and the royal canine wears his own gold crown, while both castle and countryside are all filled with them. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
More Reviews (3) Fewer Reviews
School Library Journal
Gr 1–3—King Hugo is a mini monarch (he's three foot three) who thinks very highly of himself. He makes his subjects bow to him as he extols his magnificence throughout the kingdom. One day his royal coach careens by a woman working along the road and sends her into a ditch. She just happens to be a sorceress and casts a spell on him. Each time he begins to brag, his head grows a tad bigger. When he topples from the top of the castle and rolls like a boulder into the valley, he once again meets the sorceress, who reveals her curse. To prove she is the creator of his misfortune, she allows all the haughty things he has said to explode from his head. Returning to his original appearance, he realizes what a fool he had been and humbly apologizes. "What happened next was kismet/yet truly unforeseen:/he became a better man,/and she became a queen!" This enchanting story in verse will appeal to readers who can laugh at the foolhardy king while enjoying his bizarre transformation. Children will revel at the fanciful illustrations and celebrate when the braggart receives his comeuppance. The gouache illustrations demand attention and are rich in comedic detail with a fairy-tale quality. This is a great group read-aloud that offers opportunity for reflection and discussion.—Diane Antezzo, Ridgefield Library, CT
Kirkus Reviews

A cautionary tale loses track in this fable of an egomaniacal monarch.

Here's how this story ends: The king and the sorceress fall in love and live happily ever after. And this is a surprise, because just a few pages earlier, the sorceress had put a curse on the king. His head inflated until it was 10 feet wide, so that he would learn to be less arrogant. Some picture books would conclude the story there, with King Hugo humble and chastened and vowing never again to say things like "Say, who's the most majestic king?" But a few pages from the end, the sorceress has a realization: "Could it be, deep down inside, / she kind of liked the king?" The author, it seems, is a die-hard romantic. Readers may be less forgiving, not only because the romance comes out of left field, but because the author tries to rhyme "and bent down on his knee" with "then spoke most humbly." The awkward verses make it difficult to put up with an insufferable main character—and vice versa. The pictures of King Hugo floating through the air, however, are hysterical; readers may wish the book had ended on that punch line. Even in the age of The Stinky Cheese Man, sometimes a tidy moral is best.

Some fairy tales, it turns out, work better without the fairy-tale ending. (Picture book. 3-6)

Pamela Paul
Van Dusen…tells the humorous tale, with boisterous, eye-popping illustrations…
—The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763650049
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 7/26/2011
  • Pages: 40
  • Sales rank: 111,749
  • Age range: 3 - 6 Years
  • Lexile: AD920L (what's this?)
  • Product dimensions: 10.00 (w) x 11.50 (h) x 0.50 (d)

Meet the Author

Chris Van Dusen
Chris Van Dusen

Chris Van Dusen is the author-illustrator of THE CIRCUS SHIP and the illustrator of the best-selling MERCY WATSON books by Kate DiCamillo. About KING HUGO'S HUGE EGO, he says, "Arrogance is a trait I’ve always deplored, and yet I have to admit that sometimes my own ego can become a bit inflated. Luckily I have a wonderful wife who acts as a Tessa to my occasional Hugo." Chris Van Dusen lives in Maine with his family.

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 1 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(1)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identiy on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

We're sorry, but penname is already taken.

Please select one of the following:
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously

penname is available!

By visiting the BN.com website or marking a purchase on BN.com, a User is deemed to have accepted the Terms of Use.

Continue Anonymously

Welcome, penname

You have successfully created your Pen Name. Start enjoying the benefits of the BN.com Community today.

Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review

  • Posted September 9, 2011

    My New Favorite

    The storyline and illustrations in this book are outstanding. I couldn't help but laugh out loud as I was reading it. It also sends a message that has been lost in reminding children it is not good to get too full of themselves. The book is delightful. I bought several copies as gifts.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Sort by: Showing 1 Customer Review
If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble
Why is this product inappropriate?
Comments (optional)
500 character limit