Oblong

I love these monochrome illustrations from the 50's and 60's so I could
not resist this book from 1961. The title is already fantastic!

Then the amazing design of the title page won me over...

....and this is the first page of the story. SOLD!

The story is about an emperor who one day gets an oblong pancake
instead of a round one. He then decides to eat oblong pancakes every day.
"After all, one likes to be a little different, doesn't one?"

Soon he decides to eat them from oblong plates, then he wants a matching
oblong table, and before you know it he has changed everything round in his
empire into oblong. Including fruits and eggs!

However, the sun is still round and no one can change it. The emperor is upset
and sets out himself to make the sun oblong. But in what ever direction he travels,
he never reaches the sun.

He does however discover that the whole world is ROUND. So when he returns,
he decides to make everything in his empire round again to match the world.
Only his pancakes remain oblong. "One does like to be little different, after all!"

Inside of the cover.

Cute sticker on the inside.

Those were the times!