''The King of The Copper Mountains'' is a children's novel by Paul Biegel, and was originally published as ''Het Sleutelkruid'' in the Netherlands in 1964, where it won the Gouden Griffel, the award for the best children's book of the year. An English translation by the author with illustrations by Gilliam Hume was published in 1968 by

J. M. Dent Joseph Malaby Dent (30 August 1849 – 9 May 1926) was a British book publisher who produced the Everyman's Library series. Early life Dent was born in Darlington in what is now part of the Grade II listed Britannia Inn. After a short and ...

. It was reprinted by

Franklin Watts Grolier was one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including '' The Book of Knowledge'' (1910), ''The New Book of Knowledge'' (1966), ''The New Book of Popular Science'' (1972), ''Encyclopedia Americana'' (1945), ''Acad ...

in 1969, by Collins Armada in 1971, 1973 and 1989, and by Fontana Lions in 1980 and 1987. The book was also translated into German, Afrikaans, Danish, and Spanish. Told in a style similar to '' The Arabian Nights'', it concerns the failing health of an elderly king who is kept alive by stories told by visiting animals. The book received widespread acclaim in Europe, won the Dutch literary prize for children's literature, and is now considered a classic.

Amanda Craig Amanda Craig (born 1959) is a British novelist, critic and journalist. She was a recipient of the Catherine Pakenham Award. Early life Born in South Africa, Craig grew up in Italy before moving to London. Her parents were British journalist, ...

described it in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' in 2008 as "one of the blazing jewels of children's literature." A paperback re-issue by Glasgow-based Strident Publishing from 2008 includes new illustrations and an introduction by the author's daughter Leonie.Strident page on the 2008 reprint edition
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Notes

External links

Paul Biegel homepage
1964 novels Dutch children's novels Children's fantasy novels Dutch-language novels J. M. Dent books 1964 children's books {{1960s-child-fantasy-novel-stub