''The Wonderful O'' is the last of

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' and collected ...

’s five short-book fairy tales for children. Published in 1957 by Hamish Hamilton / Simon Schuster, it followed ''

Many Moons ''Many Moons'' is a children's picture book written by James Thurber and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin. It was published by Harcourt, Brace & Company in 1943 and won the Caldecott Medal in 1944.American Library AssociationCaldecott Medal Win ...

'' (1943), '' The Great Quillow'' (1944), ''

The White Deer ''The White Deer'' is a 96 page children's novel written by James Thurber in 1945. It is a fairy tale about the quest of the three sons of King Clode – Thag and Gallow, the hunters, and Jorn, the poet – who are set perilous tasks to wi ...

'' (1945) and ''

The 13 Clocks ''The 13 Clocks'' is a fantasy tale written by James Thurber in 1950, while he was completing one of his other novels. It is written in a unique cadenced style, in which a mysterious prince must complete a seemingly impossible task to free a maid ...

'' (1950). As well as constant, complex wordplay, Thurber uses other literary devices such as frequent internal meter or rhythmic prose, near-poetry, puns, literary allusions (e.g. to wandering minstrels) and thus creates a humorous satire involving loss, love and freedom. ''The Wonderful O'' uses a form of

constrained writing Constrained writing is a literary technique in which the writer is bound by some condition that forbids certain things or imposes a pattern. Constraints are very common in poetry, which often requires the writer to use a particular verse form. ...

lipogram A lipogram (from grc, λειπογράμματος, ''leipográmmatos'', "leaving out a letter") is a kind of constrained writing or word game consisting of writing paragraphs or longer works in which a particular letter or group of letters is a ...

where the letter O is omitted at the demands of the villains. “I’ll build you a better man of firmer flesh and all complete, from hairy head to metatarsal feet, using A’s and I’s and U’s and E’s with muscular arms and flexible knees; eyes and ears and lids and lips, neck and chest and breast and hips; … ” It was one of several of Thurber's works illustrated by his friend and frequent illustrator

Marc Simont Marc Simont (November 23, 1915 – July 13, 2013) was a Paris-born American artist, political cartoonist, and illustrator of more than a hundred children's books. Inspired by his father, Spanish painter Joseph Simont, he began drawing at an earl ...

after Thurber went blind during the 1950s. The 2009 reprint by ''The New York Review'' Children's Collection, has the original illustrations by Marc Simont. For the

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs t ...

edition, (1962) ''The Wonderful O'' was joined with ''The 13 Clocks'', and both stories were illustrated by

Ronald Searle Ronald William Fordham Searle, CBE, RDI (3 March 1920 – 30 December 2011) was an English artist and satirical cartoonist, comics artist, sculptor, medal designer and illustrator. He is perhaps best remembered as the creator of St Trinian's S ...

Reviews

*"Linguistic romp with an important lesson at its heart" (''London Review of Books'') *"A tale of loss, liberty and language laced with typical Thurberian wit" (''London Review of Books'') *"The period coloured illustrations add to the charm to make a very inviting book" (''School Librarian'')
"A Thimbleful of Thurber"
(''Los Angeles Times'')

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early l ...

was nominated for

Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works containing quality "spoken ...

The Wonderful O (James Thurber) (Album)

Sources

* Penguin (Puffin Books) edition (1962) * New York Review Children's Collection (2009) * Brian Attebery, ''The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature'', (1980) {{DEFAULTSORT:Wonderful O 1957 children's books American children's books Works by James Thurber Books illustrated by Marc Simont Constrained writing