- 2 thieves flatter an emperor by speaking to his pride/vanity, becoming rich as a result
- emperor is humbled in front of all the people who have come to watch his parade
- convo: implies nudity, but illustrations only show waist-up and aren’t very realistic
- language: stupid x8
- handy glossary in back for key words
Type: picture book
Ages: 4-8
Original Author: Hans Christian Andersen
Retelling Author: Ned Bustard
Illustrations: Matthew Clark
The word spreads quickly: if you can’t see the fabric of the emperor’s new clothes, then you are stupid (the word for unintelligent used throughout). Who wants to be known by that? So, person after person pretends to see it.
Ultimately, the emperor realizes he’s been duped and that the reason his clothing cannot be seen is because there is none! He finds himself parading in front of his people while wearing nothing at all.
Bustard sandwiches the story with two verses: Matthew 6:28-29 and Proverbs 14:15. There are quite a few conversation topics that could arise from this classic tale–pride, peer pressure, dishonesty, and more. It’s a good retelling, and I recommend it.
The simple believes every word,
But the prudent considers well his steps.
Proverbs 14:15