King Hugo's Huge Ego

King Hugo's Huge Ego by Chris Van Dusen
2011

     King Hugo's diminutive size contrast with the enormity of his ego.  He was only three foot three.

And though this mini monarch 

stood no higher than an elf,

his ego was enormous-

he though highly of himself.

    

     He made his subjects bow to him and forced them to listen to never ending speeches about how mighty and magnificent he though he was.  Then, one day, while strolling in his carriage, he ran over a maiden who refused to move out of the way.  The maiden happened to be a sorcerers who cursed him so that every time King Hugo said something arrogant, his head would grow.  Soon, his crown in too small and tight for his quickly growing head.  His head got to be so large that he didn't fit through any door in the castle.  With his humongous head affecting his balance, he ends up falling off his castle's tower, rolling and bouncing all the way to the field were the sorcerers lived.  Will he deflate his ego and see the love of his life standing before him?

     King Hugo's Huge Ego is a blast.  I read it to my fifth graders today and they loved it.  The illustrations are hilarious!   But the real star of the book is the story (and I'm a sucker for good classic style stories).  The rhymes flow with ease and never seemed forced. And the vocabulary used in the book is wonderful (with many context clues to help kids figure out the meaning of the advanced words).  Overall, a great find.  One of my favorites this year.