The Ickabog

The Cover of the Ickabog

The Ickabog is a book written by J. K. Rowling, and illustrated by kids from around the world who won an illustration competition. This book was published on November 10, 2020 by Scholastic. J.K. Rowling is also the author of the Harry Potter series, a well known series that had gained attention from readers worldwide, and translated into many different languages. Though most well known for the Harry Potter series, Rowling has also written other books.

This is her first book that is unrelated to Harry Potter.

## Description

Once upon a time, there was a tiny kingdom called Cornucopia, as rich in happiness as it was in gold, and famous for its food. From the delicate cream cheeses of Kurdsburg to the Hopes-of-Heaven pastries of Chouxville, each was so delicious that people wept with joy as they ate them.

But even in this happy kingdom, a monster lurks. Legend tells of a fearsome creature living far to the north in the Marshlands, by the name of... the Ickabog. Some say it breathes fire, spits poison, and roars through the mist as it carries away sheep and children alike. However, many just shrug it off, saying it's just a myth...

But when that myth takes on a life of its own, casting a shadow over the kingdom, two children -- best friends Bert and Daisy -- embark on a great adventure to untangle the truth and find out where the real monster lies, bringing hope and happiness to Cornucopia once more.

Featuring illustrations by children from across the United States and Canada, and filled with suspenseful moments and unexpected twits, this original fairy tale from one of the world's most celebrated storytellers will captivate readers of all ages.

## About the Author

J. K. Rowling is the author of the seven Harry Potter books, which have sold over 500 million copies, been translated into over 80 languages, and made into eight blockbuster films. She has also written three short companion volumes for charity, including *Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them*, which later became the inspiration for a new series of films, also written by J. K. Rowling. She then continued Harry's story as a grown-up in a stage play, *Harry Potter and the Cursed Child*, which she wrote with playwright Jack Thorne and director John Tiffany.

J.K. Rowling has received many awards and honors for her writing. She also supports a number of causes through her charitable trust, Volant, and is the founder of the children's charity Lumos. For as long as she can remember J.K. Rowling has wanted to be a writer, and is at her happiest in a room, making things up. She lives in Scotland with her family.

*The Ickabog* was initially published online for families to enjoy during lockdown in 2020 and is illustrated by the young winners of the *Ickabog* artwork competition.

## Plot

### Chapter One: King Fred the Fearless

There was a tiny country called Cornucopia, and it had been ruled for centuries by a long line of fair-haired kings. The king at the time this story took place was King Fred the Fearless. Fred announced that the "Fearless" bit himself on the morning of his coronation. He had got the title of Fearless not only because it sounded nice with "Fred," but also because in his youth, he had managed to catch a wasp and kill it by himself, if you did not count the 5 footmen and the boot boy.

Coming to the throne on a huge wave of popularity, Fred the Fearless had "lovely" yellow curls, a fine sweeping moustache, and, according to his peers, looked stunning in tight breeches, velvet doublets, and ruffled shirts. He was also said to be generous, smiled and waved whenever people saw him, and looked "awfully handsome" in the portraits that were distributed throughout the kingdom, to be hung in the town halls. Fred's people were overall very happy with their new king, and some thought that he would end up being an even better king than his predecessor, Richard the Righteous, whose teeth were rather crooked.

Secretly, the king was relieved to find out how easy it was to rule Cornucopia. The country seemed to run itself. Almost everyone had plenty of food, the merchants of Cornucopia made lots of gold, and Fred's advisors took care of any problem that arose. All that was left to do for the king was to smile and beam at his subjects whenever he went out and go hunting 5 times every week with his friends Lord Spittleworth and Lord Flapoon.

Though his friends had grand estates of their own, they found it much cheaper and more amusing to live in the palace with Fred, eating his food, hunting his stags, and making sure that he did not get too fond of any of the attractive ladies of the court. Because a queen may spoil their fun, they had no wish to see Fred married. For a period of time, the king grew fond of Lady Eslanda, but the two lords persuaded Fred that she was far too serious and bookish for the country to enjoy her reign. However, Fred did not know that Spittleworth held a grudge against Lady Eslanda. In fact, Spittleworth had once asked her to marry him, but she declined.

Lord Spittleworth was thin, cunning and clever. In contrast to Spittleworth, Flapoon was rather ruddy-faced and enormous, so much that it required 6 men to heave him onto his horse. Both lords were far more sharp that the king.

Spittleworth and Flapoon were also experts at flattery, only pretending to be shocked at how good Fred was at everything from riding to tiddlywinks. The only particular talent Spittleworth had was persuading the king to do things that benefitted Spittleworth. The only gift Flapoon had was convincing the king that nobody on earth was as loyal to the king as the two lords.

The dim king thought his two "best friends" were jolly good chaps. They had urged him to hold parties, picnics, and banquets as Cornucopia was famous, and far beyond its borders, for food. Each of the cities was known for a different kind and each was the best in the world.

Cornucopia's capital is Chouxville, which lays in the south of the country, surrounded by acres of orchards, fields of wheat, and green grass, which on white dairy cows grazed. The products produced by the farmers in Chouxville was then given to the bakers in the same city, who made pastries.

Think of the most delicious cake or cookie you have ever tasted. The people of Chouxville would be downright ashamed to serve that. A Chouxville pastry was considered a failure unless a grown man's eyes filled with tears of pleasure as he bit into it, and the pastry was hence never made again. The bakery windows of this city were piled high with delicacies, including, Maiden's Dreams, Fairies' Cradles, and best of all, Hopes-of-Heaven, which were so uniquely delicious that they were only saved for special occasions and everyone cried for joy as they bit into them. The king of neighboring Pluritania, King Porfirio, had sent Fred a letter offering the choice of any of his daughters' hands in marriage in exchange for a lifetime's supply of Hopes-of-Heaven. However, Spittleworth advised the king to laugh in the Pluritanian ambassador's face, saying that his daughters are nowhere near beautiful enough to exchange for Hopes-of-Heaven.

The green fields and sparkling rivers north of Chouxville served the twin cities of Kurdsburg and Baronstown. These two cities were separated by an arching stone bridge over the main river of Cornucopia, where brightly colored barges bore goods from one end to another. Kurdsburg had become famous for its cheeses, which came in a variety of sizes and taste: huge white wheels, dense orange cannonballs, big crumbly barrels, and little baby cream cheeses smoother than the softest velvet. Baronstown was celebrated for its meat: smoked and honey-roasted hams, its side of bacon, spicy sausages, melting beefsteaks, and venison pies. Both the cities' products were so delicious that savory fumes from Baronstown mingled with the odorous tang wafting from the doorways the of Kurdsburg cheesemongers, and it was impossible not to salivate by merely breathing in the air.

Then, north of Kurdsburg and Baronstown, lay Jeroboam, with acres of vineyards bearing grapes as large as eggs. Jeroboam was famous for its wine, and some said that you can get tipsy by simply walking in the streets. The wine merchants were some of the richest in the kingdom.

However, at the northernmost tip of the country, the only things that grew there were rubbery mushrooms, dry grass, which were only good enough to feed a few sheep. It was like the utopia land of Cornucopia suddenly exhausted itself. This place was known as the Marshlands. The Marshlanders did not have the well-dressed appearance of the citizens of the other cities. The sickly sheep never fetched very good prices, and the most common dish was mutton broth, made of sheep that were too old to sell. As far as the other Cornucopians were concerned, the only memorable thing about the Marshlands was the Ickabog.

### Chapter Two: The Ickabog

The legend of the Ickabog had been passed down by generations of Marshlanders, and it eventually reached Chouxville. Nowadays, everyone in the country knew about it. Like all legends, the story had been modified just a little every time it was passed down, but there was one similarity. All versions agreed that a monster, called the Ickabog, lived in the Marshlands, in a wide patch of dark and often misty marsh too dangerous for humans to enter, and the Ickabog ate children and sheep. Occasionally, it carried off adults as well who strayed too close to the marsh at night.

However, it was the appearance of the Ickabog that was uncertain. Some described it as a serpent, others said it was dragonish or wolflike. What sounds the Ickabog made also varied. Some said it roared, while other said that it hissed, and some people were thinking that it drifted as silently as the mist descended on the marsh without any warnings. The Ickabog was rumored to have extraordinary powers, like mimicking the human voice to lure travelers. If you tried to murder it, it would men, or split into 2 Ickabogs, it would fly, spurt fire, shoot poison. The Ickabog's powers were as great as the imagination of the teller.

Parents all over the kingdom would tell their children to stay in the house, with the impression that the Ickabog was going to eat them all up. The tale of the Ickabog grew so well known that children all across the kingdom played at fighting the Ickabog, and frightening one another with the tale, and, sometimes, they would even have nightmares about the Ickabog.

One of those children was a boy called Bert Beamish. One night, the Beamishs' friends called the Dovetails came over for dinner, and Mr. Dovetail entertained people with what he claimed was the latest news of the Ickabog. The next morning, Bert woke up terrified, for he had just had a dream in which the monster's eyes were staring at him across a foggy marsh where he was slowly sinking.

Mrs. Beamish calmed her son by saying that the Ickabog was just a silly story, and that there is no Ickabog. She rocked him back and forth in her lap after tiptoeing into his room with a candle. However, her son would not listen, and said that sheep have gone missing, to which her mother replied that they have, but not because of a monster. She stated that sheep were foolish creatures, and they wander off and get lost. Bert was still terrified, and said that people disappeared as well. But his mother replied that those people were silly enough to stray into the marsh at night.

Mr. Dovetail and Mrs. Beamish were good friends, for they had been in the same class at school, and they knew each other all their lives. So when Mr. Dovetail heard that he had given Bert nightmares, he felt guilty, and, as he was a carpenter, carved Bert an Ickabog, which, at once, it became Bert's favorite toy. If anyone in the country had been told that terrible troubles were about to hit Cornucopia, no one would have believed it, for they lived in the happiest kingdom in the world. They were oblivious to the harm that the Ickabog could do.

### Chapter 3: Death of a Seamstress

Both the Beamishes and the Dovetails lived in a place called the City-Within-The-City. This was part of Chouxville where all the people who worked for the King lived. All of them occupied neat cottages just outside the palace grounds. The City-Within-The-City was separated from the rest of Chouxville by a high white wall, and the gates stood open during the day so that residents could go to the market and visit relatives.

Bert's father, Major Beamish, was head of the Royal Guard. He was described as a handsome, cheerful man who rode a steel-gray horse who accompanied Fred, Spittleworth, and Flapoon on hunting trips, which were 5 times a week. The king was fond of Major Beamish, and he also liked his wife, Bertha, who was his own private pastry chef. Bertha had a habit of bringing home fancy cakes that hadn't turned out how she wanted it, so Bert was a plump child, eventually earning the nickname of "Butterball."

Daisy Dovetail was Bert's best friend. They had been born days apart, and acted less like playmates and more like siblings. Daisy also defended Bert against bullies. Skinny but fast, she was more than ready to fight anyone who called Bert "Butterball."

Daisy's father was the king's carpenter. Daniel Dovetail repaired and replaced the wheels and shafts on the carriages. He also made bits of furniture to place around the palace.

Daniel Dovetail's wife, Dora Dovetail, was the Head Seamstress of the palace. The king was fond of garments and finery, and kept a whole team of tailors busy making him a new garment every month.

However, there came a tragic incident that was caused by the king's fondness for finery in which all the history books of Cornucopia would later record as the beginning of all the troubles that were to engulf the happy kingdom. At the time, few people within the City-Within-The-City knew anything about it, and for some, it was an awful tragedy.