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A shout comes echoing up the stairway "Fetch the whipping boy!" A young orphan named Jemmy rouses from his sleep. "Ain't I already been whipped twice today? Gaw! What's the prince done now? It was forbidden to spank, thrash, or whack the heir to the throne. Jemmy had been plucked from the streets to serve as whipping boy to the arrogant and spiteful Prince Brat. Dreaming of running away, Jemmy finds himself trapped in Prince Brat's own dream--at once brash and perilous. In this briskly told tale of high adventure, taut with suspense and rich with colorful characters, the whipping boy and Prince Brat must at last confront each other. Award-winning author Sid Fleischman again blends the broadly comic with the deeply compassionate in this memorable novel. A shout comes echoing up the stairway. "Fetch the whipping boy!" A young orphan named Jemmy rouses from his sleep. "Ain't I already been whipped twice today? Gaw! What's the prince done now?" It was forbidden to spank, thrash, or whack the heir to the throne. Jemmy had been plucked from the streets to serve as whipping boy to the arrogant and spiteful Prince Brat. Dreaming of running away, Jemmy finds himself trapped in Prince Brat's own dream - at once brash and perilous. In this briskly told tale of high adventure, taut with suspense and rich with colorful characters, the whipping boy and Prince Brat must at last confront each other. Award-winning author Sid Fleischman agains blends the broadly comic with the deeply compassionate in this memorable novel.
The Whipping Boy ANNOTATION A bratty prince and his whipping boy have many adventures when they inadvertently trade places after becoming involved with dangerous outlaws.
FROM THE PUBLISHER A Prince
and a Pauper Jemmy, once a poor boy living on the streets, now lives in a castle. As the whipping boy, he bears the punishment when Prince Brat misbehaves, for it is forbidden to spank, thrash, or whack the heir to the throne. The two boys have nothing in common and even less reason to like one another. But when they find themselves taken hostage after running away, they are left with no choice but to trust each other.
FROM THE CRITICS Publishers Weekly With his flair for persuading readers to believe in the ridiculous, Fleischman scores a hit with his new creation. Sis's skillful pictures emphasize events in the adventures of the orphan Jemmy, kept in his king's palace to be thrashed for the offenses committed by the royal heir, known as Prince Brat. It is forbidden to punish Brat, whose tricks multiply until Jemmy is tempted to escape the daily round of flogging. But the prince himself takes off and forces the whipping boy to go with him. As they get into and out of trouble on the outside, Jemmy hears that he has been accused of abducting Brat. When the prince arranges for their return to the palace, poor Jemmy fears the worst, but things turn out for the best at the story's satisfying close. Colorful types like a thief called Hold-Your-Nose Billy, Betsy and her dancing bear Petunia, et al., increase the fun. (7-11)
Children's Literature - Robin Overby Cox 0688062164
Bored Prince Brat has plenty of attitude and very little compassion when he rousts Jemmy, his whipping boy, out of bed to run away with him. Lest he gets his hide "flogged pink as a salmon" by Hold-Your-Nose-Billy and Cutwater, Jemmy agrees to the Prince's plan to trade places, escape their kidnappers, and return to the kingdom. The dialogue exchanged between a nasty pair of villains, an underdog, and a conniving brat carries the tale of two boys who must learn to rely on one another if they are ever to return to their own lives. Young readers thrive on just such talk and just such adventure. Introducing details of royal life, peasants, and paupers, the author immerses the reader in medieval life. The raucous language draws children into the well-told tale. Fleischman and Sis manage to do what few partners can¿¿¿simultaneously teach and entertain. Chapter titles such as, "Chapter 19-Being a full account of the happenings in the dark sewers," are part of the romp for captivated readers. Children who enjoy this novel might also choose Karen Cushman's Midwife's Apprentice or Catherine, Called Birdy, Brian Jacques' Redwall series, or Gail Levine's Ella Enchanted. Readers who like the author's voice might also try Edward Eager's Half-Magic series. 2003 (org. 1986), Greenwillow Books, School Library Journal Gr 5-7 Roles are changed when young Prince Brat, as everyone calls him (he is so altogether rotten that ``Not even black cats would cross his path''), runs away with Jemmy, his whipping boy (the commoner who takes the Prince's punishments). Because Brat has never learned to write and Jemmy can, a couple of prince-nappers decide that Jemmy is the real prince. Chiefly through Jemmy's cleverness, the two escape and return to court. Brat has learned much and changed for the better during his adventures. He winds up calling Jemmy ``friend,'' and he is certain to be a better prince hereafter. This whimsical, readable story delights in the manner of Bill Brittain's books The Wish Giver (1983) and The Devil's Donkey (1981, both Harper). Full-page black-and-white illustrationssomewhat grotesque but always complementaryadd attractiveness to the story. The mistaken identity plot is always a good one: children, even fairly old ones, like disguises and this kind of mix-up. Supplementary characters are well-drawn both by Fleischman and by Sis, so the whole hangs together in basic appeal. Readers could well move from The Whipping Boy to its much longer cousin, Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. George Gleason, Department of English, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield
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