King Hugo's Huge Ego - Chris Van Dusen Oh King Hugo, you made me laugh, you made me want to read you out loud to hear the magical lilt of your text audible. I loved every bit of the fifteen minutes I read about you King Hugo, and all the times I have read you since then... you are after all a highly re-readable book.

Guys I know it's not very often I talk about picture books here; and by not very often I mean never, but sometimes you read one and it stands out and begs to be talked about and Hugo is one of those books. The author illustrator is extremely talented and it is incredibly easy to find yourself as an adult enjoying the story of Hugo and his inflating egotistical head. We all know that one guy or gal whose ego surpasses everyone else.

Hugo wakes up every morning and gives a sermon to his people about his awesomeness. They have to go listen because he is the king. Then one day he is driving his cart about the city and asks a woman to move off the road so that he may pass. She declines to move to the muddy side of the road as she is carrying heavy things and needs to get on with her day's work. Hugo merely uses his horse and cart to knock her aside and continues on his way.

What Hugo doesn't realize is the woman he knocked aside is a sorceress and she curses him! Every time the king talks about himself his head grows larger, until one day it is so big and heavy he falls over and begins rolling through the village.

Will King Hugo learn from this curse?

Delightful, funny, and fantastically illustrated I highly recommend King Hugo!