Children’s Book Review

Once upon a time, J.K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series) told her children an original fairy tale called The Ickabog and her kids loved it. She worked on putting her fairy tale to paper in between writing the Harry Potter books, but it ended up in the attic when she decided to not publish another children’s book following her Harry Potter series. That manuscript would probably still be in the attic if not for the COVID-19 pandemic. When Ms. Rowling realized the pandemic’s impact on children, she brought her fairy tale down from the attic, brushed it off and completed the transcript.

She then made The Ickabog available online for free and invited children to submit illustrations. The winning illustrations are featured in this recently published hardcopy version of The Ickabog. The Ickabog is set in the happy, wealthy country of Cornucopia, known for its fine foods and ruled by King Fred the Fearless. Sadly, King Fred’s priority is that his citizens love him. The king’s two advisors, the Lords Spittleworth and Flapoon, excel at manipulating poor Fred. Of course, Cornucopia has a monster known as the Ickabog living in its northern marshlands. All adults know the Ickabog isn’t real; it’s just a boogeyman used to frighten children.

When reports begin circulating that the Ickabog is leaving the marsh to hunt humans, no one knows quite what to think – besides Lords Spittleworth and Flapoon. They automatically see this as an opportunity to benefit from the kingdom’s fears and take advantage of the situation.

As things in Cornucopia become increasingly dismal, two children, best friends Daisy and Bert, take it upon themselves to get to the bottom of this whole Ickabog mess. Their friendship, courage and integrity save the day.

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