The+Whipping+Boy

The Whipping Boy, by Sid Fleischman Illustrations by Peter Sis

**Summary:** In //The Whipping Boy// by Sid Fleischman, a prince by the name of Horace, who is known everywhere as "Prince Brat," is always up to no good. He is constantly misbehaving and acting out for attention. Prince Brat is deserving of whippings for his disruptive behavior. Unfortunately, royal custom dictates that princes are not to be harmed in any way. As a result of this mandate, a poor orphan boy by the name of Jemmy is brought to the castle to serve as Prince Brat's "whipping boy." Jemmy learns to read, write, and solve math problems while at the castle, however he is also forced to endure daily whippings in place of the prince. One day, the prince demands that Jemmy run away with him and act as his servant during the adventure. While on the run, the two boys are kidnapped, but the kidnappers, due to Jemmy's superior abilities to read and write, believe that he is the real prince and that Prince Brat is the whipping boy. The kidnappers then beat Prince Brat instead of the real whipping boy. Eventually the two boys escape their kidnappers and return to the castle. The King had posted a reward for the capture of the whipping boy, assuming Jemmy had kidnapped his son. In the end, the end the prince explains the entire story to the King, and Jemmy is pardoned. After his pardon, the two boys live together in the palace as best friends.

**Review:** //The Whipping Boy// really isn't a true picture book, since its strength is not in the illustrations it contains. The drawings in it actually pale in comparison to many of the other award winning picture books out there. However, where this children's book really shines is in the story itself, by Sid Fleischman. The writing is humorous, fast paced, and the characters are colorful. The plot is also very original, and it is interesting to see it unfold and to read along as the different characters react to the wildly fantastic situations that occur. This is a book that weaves some good moral messages around a fun and adventurous story.

**Analysis of Literary Elements:** Throughout this story, the author reminds the reader of important life lessons. Fairness, respect, trust, heroism, courage, generosity, and kindness are all themes featured in this story. The author also sends a strong message of the importance of getting an education and paying attention in school. Perhaps the main theme of the story, though, is friendship, as the prince and the whipping boy overcome their many differences and discover that they actually like each other as people.


 * Author Biography**: Sid Fleischman was born in 1920, in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in San Diego, and never wanted to be a writer as a child. Instead, he always dreamed of being a magician. But after graduating from college, he found himself working as a reporter for the San Diego Daily Journal. When the paper folded in 1950, he turned his attention to fiction writing. With over 60 books to his credit, he has made a substantial impact on the literary world, especially in the area of children's literature. When asked once about the genre of children's books, Fleischman responded by saying that, "the books we enjoy as children stay with us forever -they have a special impact." Sadly, Sid dies in 2010, but his son Paul is also an author of children's books. In fact, Sid and Paul are the only parent and child who have both won the Newbery Medal.

http://www.bookdepository.com/Whipping-Boy-Sid-Fleischman/9780060521226?b=-3&t=-26#Bibliographicdata-26
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