This a light-hearted retelling of a lesser known Grimm tale by award winning author Natalie Babbitt and illustrator Fred Marcellino. Based on the original Der Teufel mit den drei goldenen Haaren ("The Devil With the Three Golden Hairs"), Babbitt and Marcellino use comic humor to create a farcical story using all the characteristics of traditional literature. The King is a bumbling oaf, the Devil's grandmother is helping people in Hell and of course the Prince gets the Princess.

I probably would have liked this more if I were still young. It was definitely cute, worth a read if you like picture books or are an especial fan of Babbitt and fairy tales. ( )

One of the Grimm's fairytales that is not well known, I enjoyed this tale. Written in a humorous fashion, the story is almost comedic. Refreshing, it isn't the usual doom and gloom.

When a baby is born to a poor family, they note a crown like birthmark on his tiny butt. Believing this is a sign of great future. and that their son will marry a princess and become part of royalty, their hope is temporarily thwarted when the king learns of the birth. In disguise, he tells the parents he will raise the child and provide more advantages than they could afford.

Unfortunately, the king ensures that the baby boy is placed in a box and thrown in the deep water. The miller and his wife discover and open the box. Happy for a baby, they raise this positive, friendly fellow. Sixteen years later, the king once again discovers that baby, now boy, named Marco.

Another plan is in place to rid the king of this threat. The young man survives because the note written to the queen to dispose of this boy, is thrown away by his captors and, playing a joke, they write another note telling the queen that Marco must marry their daughter at once.

The boy marries his princess, but now Marco is told by the king to go on a journey .. to hell! Even this plan backfires and eventually it is the king who is doomed to hell.

Humorous, silly, joyous, this is a fun book to read.

A boy is born with a crown birthmark, this birthmark means that he is destined to marry a princess. When the king finds out about this prophecy he feels that he must go at once to change it. The king disguises himself and bribes the parents that he will raise the boy correctly for them. After they let him go, he "gets rid" of the boy or so he thought. Sixteen years later while passing by a miller's cottage he recognizes the boy now known as Marco that he was so adamant to destroy. The king then comes up with a plan to once and for all get rid of the boy. Instead the plan backfires and he ends up marrying the princess. The king finds out and makes Marco go on a journey to Hell, a journey in which the king never intends for him to return from.
This story is one of the Grimm brothers lesser known stories but still carries many of the same traits. I really enjoyed this ironic tale and all the twist and turns that came with it. This story is full of irony and will keep you wanting to read more and more. ( )

The King finds out that a boy is born with a crown as a birthmark, the boy will someday marry a princess. The king does not want the peasant boy to someday marry his daughter. The king creates a plan to get rid of the boy. Sixteen years later, the king meets the boy again. The king tries to have the boy killed again. All of the kings attempts to get rid of the newly crowned prince fails. Instead, the king gets into a situation that he cannot get out of. The prince becomes the king. This story is perfect to share with students to show the effect that irony plays in a plot. ( )