The Boy and the Boy King

Gr 2-4–Arthur receives a package from England containing two stuffed rabbits, one of whom comes to life to serve as the boy’s friend. Arthur and Bun-Bun go everywhere together until the boy is teased. One teacher threatens to take the rabbit away, while another more empathetic one gives Arthur The Book of Magical Friends that portends adventure ahead. When he visits the Temple of Dendur in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he and Bun-Bun step through a doorway that serves as a portal to ancient Egypt where the pair befriend the boy king, Tutankhamun. Evil advisors to King Tut are foiled and the two boys and the rabbit frolic and play before Tut must return to his kingdom. Tut comes to consider a deeper destiny for himself, finding comfort in Bun-Bun, who stays on when Arthur returns home, ostensibly a more mature and wiser boy. Gorgeous, photorealistic illustrations in sepia depict this dreamy world, full of impressionistic and chiaroscuro scenes that suggest epic adventures but do not deliver them. Divided into three sections, the story is overly long and the plot is incongruous and meandering. Asides in the text and disjointed storytelling cause confusion for readers, while Bun-Bun’s philosophical statements, intended to be both meaningful and humorous, simply interfere. References to “cosmic choices,” childhood imaginations, and war and peace further muddy the story.