Anyone who has ever heard that old Irish folksong, The Wren in the Furze - "The wren, oh the wren, he's the king of all birds, on St. Steven's Day he got caught in the furze" - and wondered how the wren came to be the king of the birds, will undoubtedly appreciate this retelling of a widespread folktale, one which answers that very question. Confronted with absolute chaos in the avian world, Old Mother Owl, in her wisdom, suggests a flying contest to determine who will be king of the birds. Using his wits, rather than his (minimal) strength, the Wren wins the contest...

I enjoyed this picture-book retelling of this tale, although I would have appreciated a little more detail, when it came to the sources Climo used. Her very brief afterword, of no more than a sentence or two, in which she mentions that Aesop told a similar tale, and that most of the folk traditions of Europe (as well as the Chippewa) contain a variant of it, didn't really clarify which tradition this retelling reflected. Still, the story itself was engaging - part pourquoi tale, explaining how wren came to have his appearance, and part morality tale, imparting a lesson about the importance of creative thinking - and the illustrations by Ruth Heller were bright and appealing. I particularly liked the purplish-gray feather to be found floating on most of the pages. I see that Helen Ward has also retold this tale, in her The King Of The Birds - I may have to take a look at that one as well, in order to contrast and compare. ( )

When chaos reigns among the birds, Owl declares a contest to determine who will be their king.