{"product_id":"king-alfred-and-the-ice-coffinisbn-9781536238809","title":"King Alfred and the Ice Coffin","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe illustrious creators of \u003ci\u003eArthur, the Always King \u003c\/i\u003ereturn with a tale within a tale, focused on a heroic West Saxon king who championed the power of storytelling.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen Wulfstan, an intrepid ninth-century sailor, arrives at King Alfred’s court, he soon enchants the king with his riveting tale of stormy seas, thrilling races on horseback, and a ruler encased in ice. In this extraordinary collaboration, the award-winning Kevin Crossley-Holland and former British Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell reunite to bring Wulfstan’s tale, and the world of King Alfred the Great, to life. Told in lyrical prose and richly illustrated, this story of a West Saxon king known for fighting off the Vikings will captivate readers of all ages. An author’s note details King Alfred’s wish to enable his people to read books in their own language, learning Latin himself so he could translate the written works into English and incorporate tales of northern lands, such as the one retold here, that were recounted to him by travelers.\u003cb\u003eKevin Crossley-Holland\u003c\/b\u003e is a Carnegie Medal–winning author as well as a poet, librettist, reteller, and teacher. His world-renowned Arthur trilogy has sold well over one million copies and been translated into twenty-five languages. His retellings include \u003ci\u003eAcross the Rainbow Bridge: Stories of Norse Gods and Humans\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eillustrated by Jeffrey Alan Love; \u003ci\u003eBetween Worlds: Folktales of Britain and Ireland\u003c\/i\u003e, illustrated by Frances Castle; and \u003ci\u003eNorse Myths: Tales of Odin\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Thor\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e and Loki\u003c\/i\u003e, illustrated by Jeffrey Alan Love. After seven years teaching in the US, Kevin Crossley-Holland now lives with his wife in England.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eChris Riddell \u003c\/b\u003eis an award-winning illustrator, a writer of children’s books, and a political cartoonist. He is the illustrator of \u003ci\u003eJonathan Swift’s\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eGulliver\u003c\/i\u003e, retold by Martin Jenkins, as well as \u003ci\u003eA Great\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eBig Cuddle: Poems for the Very Young \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Honey for You\u003c\/i\u003e,\u003ci\u003e Honey for Me: A First Book of Nursery Rhymes\u003c\/i\u003e, both by Michael Rosen. The winner of three Kate Greenaway Medals and a former British Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell lives in England.Within an arrow’s shot of the ancient fort,\u003cbr\u003e home of ravens and screeching sea eagles . . .\u003cbr\u003e Inside the circle of stone walls \u003cbr\u003e built by Romans, crumbling now, collapsing . . .\u003cbr\u003e In the very place some people still\u003cbr\u003e call Camelot, Alfred the King\u003cbr\u003e ruled the West Saxons from his hall\u003cbr\u003e in Winchester.\u003cbr\u003e                    “This is the hub and beating\u003cbr\u003e heart of my whole wide kingdom.”\u003cbr\u003e That’s what the king said.\u003cbr\u003e                              But each spring\u003cbr\u003e and summer, each autumn and winter,\u003cbr\u003e he rode around all his royal estates,\u003cbr\u003e an unholy progress of ponies and carts\u003cbr\u003e picking along unpaved green lanes,\u003cbr\u003e over sandy heath and through silent forest,\u003cbr\u003e slogging through mud, crossing swollen streams.\u003cbr\u003e Bath and Worcester, Wallingford, Chichester,\u003cbr\u003e west in Wareham, east in Rochester, \u003cbr\u003e wherever the king was, he held court—\u003cbr\u003e forever leaving Winchester, forever returning.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e At dawn all the king’s duties began.\u003cbr\u003e As soon as he heard his day-trumpeters, \u003cbr\u003e Alfred dressed, proceeded to the hall,\u003cbr\u003e and held court. He conferred\u003cbr\u003e with advisors and heard messengers;\u003cbr\u003e he listened to arguments and petitions,\u003cbr\u003e handed down decisions, and gave\u003cbr\u003e grants of land, rewards, punishments.\u003cbr\u003e And on many days the king met members\u003cbr\u003e of his household and thanked them\u003cbr\u003e for their work—his weaponsmiths and craftsmen,\u003cbr\u003e his falconers, huntsmen, and kennelmen.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But late each afternoon, on every day\u003cbr\u003e except Sunday, when he rode out hunting—hunting or hawking—the king retreated\u003cbr\u003e to a quiet inner chamber\u003cbr\u003e with Asser, his Welsh priest. That’s where\u003cbr\u003e the king of Wessex became an eager pupil!\u003cbr\u003e Sitting on an oak stool, or sometimes\u003cbr\u003e standing at a slanted desk, he listened\u003cbr\u003e with both ears to the words and phrases\u003cbr\u003e that Asser taught him, and learned Latin.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e “You’ve told me,” the king said, \u003cbr\u003e “that some books are so wise,\u003cbr\u003e so wonderful that we should be able\u003cbr\u003e to hear them, but they’re all in Latin!\u003cbr\u003e You say there’s one that describes \u003cbr\u003e distant places, distant people,\u003cbr\u003e but tells almost nothing about us here,\u003cbr\u003e perched as we are on the edge of the ocean.\u003cbr\u003e I’ll translate it! And I’ll add stories \u003cbr\u003e from far-flung parts of England,\u003cbr\u003e and tales from Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Asser smiled and tugged his black beard.\u003cbr\u003e “As if you’re not already too busy\u003cbr\u003e ruling a kingdom, laying down new laws,\u003cbr\u003e to-ing and fro-ing, fortifying towns,\u003cbr\u003e and always keeping a sharp eye on the Danes since you and their leader, Guthrum, made peace and promised to share the land between you.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Even so, I want my people to hear and to learn,” the king replied. “They’re not animals. \u003cbr\u003e And how can they do that without \u003cbr\u003e any books in our own language?\u003cbr\u003e I want them to grow close to God.\u003cbr\u003e I’ll have my scribes make copies\u003cbr\u003e and send them to all my bishops\u003cbr\u003e with precious pointers made of ivory\u003cbr\u003e and crystal, enamel and gold, so that they\u003cbr\u003e can follow each line, each word.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Then King Alfred asked Asser, “There’s \u003cbr\u003e a saying, isn’t there? ‘Only God knows\u003cbr\u003e what’s in store for a growing child.’\u003cbr\u003e When I was a boy, I never imagined\u003cbr\u003e that all four of my elder brothers\u003cbr\u003e would die before I did. I never \u003cbr\u003e supposed that I would be crowned king.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “I was only twenty-two then\u003cbr\u003e and no one thought I’d last very long.\u003cbr\u003e No, no, not with all the Viking attacks\u003cbr\u003e and this daily pain in my poor gut.\u003cbr\u003e It feels like a tangled cat’s cradle.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The king smiled. “I was a weakling. \u003cbr\u003e You must have heard how, when I \u003cbr\u003e was nineteen, I collapsed at the altar\u003cbr\u003e on the very morning I married my bride,\u003cbr\u003e Ealhswith of Mercia. I was nearly\u003cbr\u003e dead before I was wed!\u003cbr\u003e But here I am, still alive.\u003cbr\u003e And however long I live,\u003cbr\u003e I vow that I will serve my people.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e While the king was still talking,\u003cbr\u003e one of his servants tapped at the door.\u003cbr\u003e “Sire, we all know how you welcome travelers, \u003cbr\u003e especially those with a tale to tell. This morning \u003cbr\u003e a trader has come to court with a wonderful story—\u003cbr\u003e a story about horse racing and a ruler buried in ice.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Well,” the king replied, “let’s hear him\u003cbr\u003e this evening. Let’s hope he weaves words\u003cbr\u003e better than those three Cornishmen,\u003cbr\u003e the ones who crossed to Ireland by mistake . . .\u003cbr\u003e What with all their mumbling and jumbling, \u003cbr\u003e I fell asleep before they had finished.”","brand":"Candlewick Studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304529055973,"sku":"NP9781536238809","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781536238808_f1c9b646-9409-4712-b592-7ff16c94af7f.jpg?v=1730757655","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/king-alfred-and-the-ice-coffinisbn-9781536238809","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}