Prince Silencio
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Written and illustrated by Anne Herbauts
32 pages |
About the Book
Prince Silencio is about a prince whose father the king cannot tolerate noise. When the prince is born, the king’s subjects celebrate so loudly that the king roars for silence. It is thus that his son comes to be named Prince Silencio.
The prince grows into a handsome, but shy young man, and as luck would have it, the king appoints him his Minister of Silence, charged with keeping the people of the kingdom quiet.
On the fateful day that the king dies, loud, wild tumult convulses the kingdom as the king’s subjects give themselves over to singing, shouting, talking and laughing. Smitten by beauty of the noise, Prince Silencio wants to join in the merrymaking, but the people drive him away, worried that he will impose silence over them once again.
But without Silencio, it becomes impossible for them to hear anything at all. Their words run together, they become agitated, and chaos ensues. So the people call Silencio back, having realized the need for some silence in their lieves.
Prince Silencio is a terrific read-aloud book, with the words and illustrations playing off each other in wonderful ways. The illustrations themselves are stunning and succeed wonderfully at conveying cacophony visually. Noise is there in the illustrations as words run together and people and things get jumbled together.
Further play and pleasure are provided by a list of idioms (“frog in your throat,” “squeal like a pig”) that relate to the illustrations.
Based on the school visits that Anne has made in several countries it is clear that children dig this book. They get noise; but they also get silence. They like happy noise, but not too much noise, and usually not the noise of traffic unless it’s a fire truck. Left to their own devices, children end up having more words for noise and silence than most adults have ever dreamed of.
Awards and Reviews
A Bank Street College of Education Children’s Book of the Year
“An oversized and overwhelmingly beautiful book...” – Daniel Pinkwater, Wondertime Magazine
“Arch wit and striking artwork mark this Belgian artist’s debut.” – Publishers Weekly
“...the size and the color of the artwork and the simple text make this a good book to share with groups.” – School Library Journal
“Unique and colorful illustrations support the story. The message of this book...would be an excellent read aloud to stimulate discussion with older readers.” – Assn. Region XI School Librarians, Ft. Worth, TX
“A wonderful book to share with your children…” – jellymom.com
“Prince Silencio is charmingly written and brilliantly illustrated…very highly recommended as a purely enchanting and thoroughly entertaining tale of passion, exile, acceptance, and enjoyment.” – The Midwest Book Review
