Kathryn Lasky is one of those authors that blows my mind. She's insanely prolific; I have a feeling if I was an author I'd be lucky to get one book done every few years.

Anyways, this picture book of hers isn't new, but I like it, so here it is:

Everyone knows the story of the Emperor and his new clothes, but whatever happened to his old clothes? Well apparently a very nice (and rather goofy looking) farmer named Henry came across them. One at a time, Henry finds various items of clothing tossed by the roadside. He trades his old farming clothes for silk stockings, high-heeled shoes, pantaloons, a doublet and a wig. This is my favourite line: "Henry did not know the word regal, but that is how he felt- high and mighty, as if he could walk on clouds, as if the mountains would bow and the stars might even clap."

But when Henry gets back to his farm, he finds that his new duds are not the most practical apparel for a farmer. And frankly, his animals aren't impressed either, and they laugh at his attempts to look after them in the new clothes. Fortunately, Henry is a sensible, amiable type, and he realizes that he's more of an overalls type of a guy, and he and his animals live happily ever after.

Lasky's prose is spot on, and illustrator David Catrow's paintings are stupendous. The price of the book is worth it for the shoes alone.

The Emperor's Old Clothes written by Kathryn Lasky illustrated by David Catrow
ISBN 0152163484
32 pages