Every child should have the joy of growing up with Tales of the Kingdom by David and Karen Mains. Along with Tales of the Resistance and its more recent conclusion to the trilogy titled Tales of the Restoration, Kingdom Tales impacted my imagination and memory more than almost any other book besides Narnia.
Proof can be found in my first journal from 1992. At eight years old I couldn’t spell or form proper sentences, but I knew and loved the Tales. My best friends and I spent summer days on end garbed in silky dresses pretending to be princesses of Great Park. We were beautiful, courageous, and if necessary, were always rescued by a brave Ranger if the peril grew too great! A decade and a half has not changed my affection for these books. The exquisite illustrations bring back delicious memory, the stories still hold me captive…like all good stories, I grow to understand them deeper as I grow older.
No matter what trial I am going through, there is a Tale to encourage and challenge me. One of my all-time favorites is “The Forbidden Princess” in Tales of the Resistance. The struggle of surrendering a forbidden love and learning to love again after heartbreak is something we can all understand.
A child with wild flowers in her hair, whose laughter constantly announced her presence, Amanda once had loved extravagently, without question. Now she questioned all loves and was cautious about loving anything…
Amanda, a princess herself, ignores her friends’ cautions and seeks to rescue the Enchanter’s princess. However, when her mission is nearly complete she realizes that she cannot do everything on her own.
What had she done? Awakened the princess out of her unfeeling numbness so she would be totally aware of the torture ahead? Placed her own valuable gifts of seeing and perfect aim as hostage to the enemy? These loves, these loves, these terrible loves! Would she ever learn that love was dangerous?
Most important of all, she learns that, “Because some loves are forbidden, not all loves are so.”
The theme of love and healing is one of the most powerful of these books. Even if you do not thrive on allegories, like me, you can enjoy the simple joys and delights of Tales whether you are 6 or 16 or 60.
To His Majesty
my Sovereign Liege
to His Eminence
the Benevolent Potentate
To His Supreme Holiness
the Lord Monseigneur
to His Most Royal Highness, the Monarch of All–
to the King!
and to the Restoration of His Kingdom!
Thanks so much for sharing these books with us Natalie 🙂
They sound very refreshing and awesome, i am probably going to keep a lookout for them, maybe my local library carries them!
Thanks again for suggesting these books! I really appreciate it!
May God Bless you and keep you!
Jane.
I’ve never read those, but they sound very good! I’ll have to keep my eye out for them! I have a new little niece, and those would be wonderful to introduce to her when she is old enough to understand them:-)
Those books are wonderful! My daddy read them to me when I was a little younger, and I still like to sit down with them every now and then.
I’m so glad you mentioned those books… I was just thinking about where to find more wholesome “princess stories.” =)
Ooh, the Tales sound so good! *adds to reading list*
Ah…another set of books to add to my list. They sound quite good, and I have had enough people tell me about them that I believe it is high time I read them. =) Besides, I too love allegories. 😉
To the Restoration of His Kingdom!
-Kari
oh, i loved those books so! 🙂 i’m delighted to find someone else who lived as princess amanda in her games.