When a king gives one of his ministers an impossible task to complete, the minister's clever daughter helps him to find a solution, winning the admiration, and eventually the love, of their ruler. Although she promises, when she and the king marry, that she will not interfere with her husband's legal decisions, the wise young queen finds herself doing just that, after a young boy is unjustly deprived of his calf. Having angered her husband, the queen is condemned to exile, although she does convince her angry spouse to allow her to take the thing "she loves most" with her...

Simply told by prolific translator Anthea Bell, and beautifully illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki - one of Japan's most beloved picture-book artists - The Wise Queen is an entertaining tale in which wisdom triumphs over resentment and small-minded jealousy. I enjoyed it immensely, although I was irritated at its description as a "European" tale. Having ranted about those books in which "folktales" are described as "Indian" or "Native American," with no further information given - as if the diverse folk traditions of an entire continent could somehow be collapsed into one undifferentiated whole - I find myself as unsympathetic to the same carelessness (somewhat less common, I think) in the retelling of European folklore. There is a brief note at the front, mentioning that this version was collected by Moses Gaster. Should I therefore assume that it is either Jewish or Romanian? If so, why not just say so, and mention that there are many other European variants?

Four stars for the tale itself, and for the lovely watercolor artwork. The odd (non)classification issue might have merited a deduction of one star, but I decided to be generous, since some information as to source was provided. ( )

This is a story about a minister's daughter that is very smart and good at solving brain teasers. She is married to the king and agrees to not meddle in his affairs. But one day she does, in trying to help a boy get his calf back. When the king finds out he tells her she has to leave his palace. The woman makes two requests, including a feast and the ability to take one thing out of the castle that she loved the most. She actually ended up taking the king himself. When the king realized how much she loved him along with how smart she was, in her ability to trick even him, he let her come back to the palace. The king let her help him in all his future affairs anf they lived happily ever after. I enjoyed this story and I think kids will too. ( )