A kindly king and an elderly dragon are good friends in this slim paperback picture-book from 1972, but run afoul of the local witch, who is very wicked indeed, and who hates for anyone to be happy. When the king and the witch meet in the forest one autumn day, she casts a spell on him, cursing him to experience bad things every day at four o'clock, unless he drives away the "wicked beast" haunting the forest. Although clearly intending to force the king to turn on his friend, the witch's vague condition instead sees her being driven off, when king and dragon put their heads together to find a solution...

One of many titles I discovered through my perennial hunt for witchy picture-books and beginning readers—such books being a pet project of mind—The King, the Dragon, and the Witch was completely unknown to me, when I picked it up, as were its author and illustrator. I thought the story idea had promise, but the text itself was a little bit too involved and clunky for the whole thing to work. There was a great deal of exposition, with the book alternating between two-page spreads that were entirely text, and those which were half text and half illustration, and the overall effect was somewhat ponderous. Apparently the author has written numerous political works for adults, with this being his only foray into children's books. While not that impressed by the writing here, I was intrigued by the illustrations of Sylvie Selig, a French artist whose work includes painting, drawing and sculpture. The visuals here have a somewhat naive style, and look like they could be done in collage. The colors are often vibrant, and attention is paid to the fabrics worn by various characters. Although I wouldn't say I loved the artwork, I did find it interesting, and enjoyed looking at it, which raised my rating from two to two and a half stars. I'm not sure I would strongly recommend this one, unless the reader is interested in the artist, or has a strong preference for fairy-tales involving dragons and witches. ( )