Prince Silencio (Hardcover)

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. In this way, the Prince comes to be named Silencio. The Prince grows into a handsome, but shy young man. One day the King summons Silencio to him and appoints him his Minister of Silence, charged with keeping the people quiet. One fateful day the king dies and a joyful, loud, wild tumult convulses the Kingdom. Once again, people are able to give themselves over to singing, shouting, talking and laughing. Prince Silencio, smitten by the beauty of the noise, wants to join in the merrymaking, but the people drive him away, worried that he will impose silence upon them once again. It doesn't take long for them to discover that without Silencio, it becomes impossible for them to hear anything at all. Their words run together, becoming a blare of noise. They become agitated and aggravated. Chaos ensues. In the end, the people call Prince Silencio back, having realized the need for silence between their words, their songs, and in their lives. Prince Silencio makes a terrific read aloud book, with the words and pictures playing off each other in wonderful ways. Further play and pleasure are provided by the book's last page, a list of words and phrases, such as "frog in your throat," "squeal like a pig," bray and cackle, all of which can be found in the illustrations.