Genre: The Whipping Boy (Fleischman, 1986) is one of the older Newbery books I read, and that my library carries, but still one of the more commonly read. I vaguely recall reading it before, years ago, and, given my strong belief that we as librarians need to do more to encourage boys to read, I thought I’d look again at the Newbery book most likely to be read by boys – what might be the shortest one.
Book Summary: The prince is a massive brat, but, being a prince, he can’t be punished with even so much as a mild spanking. So, in a bit of logic that escapes the author and readers alike, a commoner boy is chosen to receive them for the prince. When the prince decides to run away he insists the Whipping Boy go with him, and he, for his part, sees it as a chance to escape the constant whippings.
They quickly fall into trouble with a pair of highwayman, a potato seller, and a girl with a dancing bear. Throughout it all is the Whipping Boy, with more knowledge of the outside world and things like reading and writing than the Prince, to try and keep them safe, while the Prince slowly learns a thing or two, and ultimately manages to be of some use.
Impressions: The Whipping Boy is a very interesting book, in part because I don’t really think it would be published today, much less win the Newbery. That isn’t to say it is a bad book, not at all, I quite liked it and it certainly tells a fine story. But compare it to the honor book from the following year – Hatchet by Gary Paulsen, and, well, the comparison is not favorable.
Then again, I don’t even recognize the honor books from that year, so perhaps it was simply not a particularly good year for children’s literature.
It does manage to do well what I hoped it would – tell a story that boys would enjoy and relate with. Both Jeremy and the Prince have traits and thoughts that would resonate with most boys – the unfairness of life, the feeling that your parents are ignoring you, and the like, simply turned up to eleven and made much more visible, especially the unfairness of life for the poor Whipping Boy.
Professional Review: From Publishers Weekly (2017)Library Uses: The Whipping Boy would actually be of use for storytimes, despite the older audience, because it is short enough that it could be read over only a few consecutive storytimes. With something visual added on – felt board, puppets, something like that – it could do a good job of keeping the kids’ attention and serve as an introduction to chapter books.
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)
Readalikes: Books like Weasel by Cynthia DeFelice is another I would recommend. While the setting is frontier rather than medieval, it has a similar feel of adventure to it. Other possibilities would be Jack London’s books, or perhaps Lloyd Alexander’s Book of the Three, with a protagonist who is quite humble in his origins like Jeremy is.
References
Publishers Weekly. (2017). The Whipping Boy. [Review of the book The Whipping Boy]. PWxyz, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-688-06216-3
Fleischman, S. (1986). The Whipping Boy. New York, NY: Harper Trophy.
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