Status
Check shelf
Call number
Genres
Publication
Scholastic inc (1969), 167 pages
Description
The Prime Minister is compiling a dictionary and when no one at court can agree on the meaning of delicious, the King sends his twelve-year-old messenger to poll the country.
Local notes
1610-010
User reviews
LibraryThing member Hamburgerclan
My older daughter is not the only one who has school books to read, so occasionally I have to check out what my younger daughter has been assigned. "The Search for Delicious" is a delightful little fairy tale, set in a medievel-like kingdom. The valley in which the kingdom is located is also
--J.
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inhabited by supernatural creatures, but they have little to do with mankind. Their existence was only believed by "the occasional child or an even more occasional worker of evil." Anyway, the tale is of a young lad, Gaylen, who's adoptive father is the kingdom's prime minister. The PM is working on a dictionary and runs into a problem when attempting to define "delicious". He wants to say, "Delicious is fried fish." The king, however, thinks, "Delicious is apples." The queen votes for Christmas pudding, the general for beer and so on until discord reigns. Gaylen is assigned the task of polling the kingdom for the agreed definition of "delicious", but the Queen's brother, Hemlock, takes the opportunity to use the resulting discord to further his own abitions for power. So the race begins and along the way, Gaylen is young and Hemlock is evil enough to encounter the more fanciful residents of the realm.--J.
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LibraryThing member BoundTogetherForGood
I began this book a long time ago and somehow never finished reading it to the kids. When I realized I hadn't finished it I picked it right up and finished it. It is a good story and an easy read.
LibraryThing member theokester
I read this book as part of a "literary discussion group" for my 5th grader's class. Each week the kids got together and discussed the reading. They had weekly assignments as well as a "discussion worksheet" that they filled out to help promote discussion. It was pretty cool to see these fifth
As to the book, it's an entertaining read with some interesting themes and principles. The high level summary is that the prime minister in a kingdom is trying to write a dictionary for the kingdom. With each definition, he provides an example. He's reached the word "Delicious" and everybody has a different opinion as to what truly exemplifies the word....apples, nuts, pies, etc. So, the young hero Gaylen is sent out into the kindgom to take a survey of every citizen and determine, by majority, what is the most delicious.
The disagreements within the castle prove to have just been a microcosm of the kingdom at large and it quickly becomes evident that there won't be any common consensus. Added to the "delicious" problem, we have a power hungry man riding around the country stirring up trouble in hopes of eventually getting the kingdom for himself.
An intriguing parallel story thread starts with a prologue in which we're given definitions of mystical/magical creatures who still exist but have been forgotten or ignored by humans. We're presented the story of a mermaid named Ardis who had a magical key that opened and closed the door of a house at the bottom of a lake. The key was taken from her by a human and has been lost forever. Throughout Gaylen's journey across the kingdom, he learns more about these mythical beings and the part they may still play in the kingdom.
Overall, this was a fun and entertaining story. It's a simple tale easily accessible to children. And yet it has some themes and ideas that could be engaging to adults as well. It makes a point of showing how silly some of our arguments become and how outrageous our behavior is. It touches on the concepts of the creativity and imagination that's often lost as we transition from youth to adult.
This is a fun fairy tale that can be enjoyed together by parents and children.
****
3.5 out of 5 stars
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graders start down the path of analyzing and really thinking about the books they were reading. Tons of fun.As to the book, it's an entertaining read with some interesting themes and principles. The high level summary is that the prime minister in a kingdom is trying to write a dictionary for the kingdom. With each definition, he provides an example. He's reached the word "Delicious" and everybody has a different opinion as to what truly exemplifies the word....apples, nuts, pies, etc. So, the young hero Gaylen is sent out into the kindgom to take a survey of every citizen and determine, by majority, what is the most delicious.
The disagreements within the castle prove to have just been a microcosm of the kingdom at large and it quickly becomes evident that there won't be any common consensus. Added to the "delicious" problem, we have a power hungry man riding around the country stirring up trouble in hopes of eventually getting the kingdom for himself.
An intriguing parallel story thread starts with a prologue in which we're given definitions of mystical/magical creatures who still exist but have been forgotten or ignored by humans. We're presented the story of a mermaid named Ardis who had a magical key that opened and closed the door of a house at the bottom of a lake. The key was taken from her by a human and has been lost forever. Throughout Gaylen's journey across the kingdom, he learns more about these mythical beings and the part they may still play in the kingdom.
Overall, this was a fun and entertaining story. It's a simple tale easily accessible to children. And yet it has some themes and ideas that could be engaging to adults as well. It makes a point of showing how silly some of our arguments become and how outrageous our behavior is. It touches on the concepts of the creativity and imagination that's often lost as we transition from youth to adult.
This is a fun fairy tale that can be enjoyed together by parents and children.
****
3.5 out of 5 stars
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LibraryThing member BoundTogetherForGood
Ah...the search for delicious...
what a lovely quest to embark upon.
The bulk of this quest is carried out by Vaungaylen. Gaylen, as he is known, was left by is mother, in a basket, at the gates of the castle. He was quickly adopted by Prime Minister DeCree.
The Prime Minister began work on a
The King was quite pleased with the Prime Minister's progress:
A: "He liked 'Affectionate is your dog'."
B: "Bulky is a big bag of boxes."
C: "Calamitous is saying no to the King."
D: "Delicious is fried fish."
But, no, that didn't please the king.
The King thought apples should be declared the most delicious.
It didn't please anyone else either.
The Queen thought Christmas pudding.
The Queen's trouble-maker brother piped up that his vote was for nuts.
The General stated that a mug of beer is delicious.
Gaylen was asked to set out around the kingdom gathering everyone's votes as to the best definition for "delicious".
In a land where "nothing" belongs to the people and the world is filled with mermaids, woldwellers, and dwarves, a minor story is interwoven in the main one.
Our little one (age five) and I have been reading this book for many months. She found it so interesting that she was able to remember very minor details of the story from one reading to the next. Today as I was writing this review she reminded me that someone had clearly affirmed a preference for "beer" as being delicious. Given that, I can say that this book can be used as a read-aloud selection for children as young as probably age four, perhaps a precocious age three. The first time I read this book it was to our two younger boys who were nearing ages seven and eight.
Natalie Babbitt also wrote Tuck Everlasting which I read in August 2007 and again in April 2008. I'm not much of a rereader of books and there isn't a lot of time between those two readings. The prose with which she wrote Tuck Everlasting really satisfied me and so I returned to it very soon. The Disney film adaptation of Tuck Everlasting is also very well done.
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My Review of Tuck Everylasting by Natalie Babbitt
what a lovely quest to embark upon.
The bulk of this quest is carried out by Vaungaylen. Gaylen, as he is known, was left by is mother, in a basket, at the gates of the castle. He was quickly adopted by Prime Minister DeCree.
The Prime Minister began work on a
Show More
dictionary when Gaylen was twelve years old.The King was quite pleased with the Prime Minister's progress:
A: "He liked 'Affectionate is your dog'."
B: "Bulky is a big bag of boxes."
C: "Calamitous is saying no to the King."
D: "Delicious is fried fish."
But, no, that didn't please the king.
The King thought apples should be declared the most delicious.
It didn't please anyone else either.
The Queen thought Christmas pudding.
The Queen's trouble-maker brother piped up that his vote was for nuts.
The General stated that a mug of beer is delicious.
Gaylen was asked to set out around the kingdom gathering everyone's votes as to the best definition for "delicious".
In a land where "nothing" belongs to the people and the world is filled with mermaids, woldwellers, and dwarves, a minor story is interwoven in the main one.
Our little one (age five) and I have been reading this book for many months. She found it so interesting that she was able to remember very minor details of the story from one reading to the next. Today as I was writing this review she reminded me that someone had clearly affirmed a preference for "beer" as being delicious. Given that, I can say that this book can be used as a read-aloud selection for children as young as probably age four, perhaps a precocious age three. The first time I read this book it was to our two younger boys who were nearing ages seven and eight.
Natalie Babbitt also wrote Tuck Everlasting which I read in August 2007 and again in April 2008. I'm not much of a rereader of books and there isn't a lot of time between those two readings. The prose with which she wrote Tuck Everlasting really satisfied me and so I returned to it very soon. The Disney film adaptation of Tuck Everlasting is also very well done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My Review of Tuck Everylasting by Natalie Babbitt
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LibraryThing member klburnside
I liked parts of this book. The idea of a boy going on a mission to poll all residents of the kingdom to make a dictionary entry for the word delicious is clever. However, I didn't like when all these other things entered into the story with a mermaid that lost her doll and a key and a lake...it
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had all the elements of a nice fairy tale with a good moral lesson, but somehow I don't feel like it all came together. Show Less
LibraryThing member Salsabrarian
DeCree, the prime minister, has been working on compiling a dictionary. His definition of "delicious"--"delicious is fried fish"--has stirred up strong disagreement in the king's castle. DeCree's young assistant Gaylen is sent out to poll the kingdom to find out what food the people think is
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delicious. The queen's brother Hemlock intentionally rides ahead of Gaylen to stir the pot, so to speak, about the poll. By the time Gaylen reaches the other towns, everyone is up in arms which falls into Hemlock's plan to wage war and take over the King. What may stymie his plans is a mermaid named Ardis and a special key to an underground house where Ardis' beloved doll is trapped. Show Less
LibraryThing member fingerpost
In a tiny medieval kingdom, Gaylen (12) is sent on a mission to poll every citizen on what food they find most delicious because a dictionary is being written, and no one can agree on what best exemplifies "delicious." Gaylen is plagued by Hemlock, the villain, who it turns out is planning to
We don't get to know Gaylen well enough to make him a strong character. The "search for delicious" plot and the "overthrow the kingdom" plot don't mesh together well. Nobody really learns any lessons.
The story is well told, but it comes across as a forgettable fairy tale that would have been better abridged to 20 pages and read as a bedtime story for a 6 year old.
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overthrow the king. A few fantasy creatures are involved as well.We don't get to know Gaylen well enough to make him a strong character. The "search for delicious" plot and the "overthrow the kingdom" plot don't mesh together well. Nobody really learns any lessons.
The story is well told, but it comes across as a forgettable fairy tale that would have been better abridged to 20 pages and read as a bedtime story for a 6 year old.
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LibraryThing member mutantpudding
Nuanced and belovable (is that a word?) kids book that I wish got the attention it deserves. Picked up a secondhand paperback copy for this reread, but when I was a kid I listened to it on audiobook which I highly recommend! Great full cast production that I love, even though the scene with the
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winds scared the crap out of me when I was younger. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Sequoyah Book Award (Nominee — Children's — 1972)
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (Nominee — 1972)
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee — 1971-1972)
Mark Twain Readers Award (Nominee)
Language
Original publication date
1969
Physical description
167 p.; 6.7 inches
ISBN
0590129317 / 9780590129312