Once upon a time, there was a princess---"the most beautiful in all the land"---and all the young men dreamed of winning her hand. When the king issues a challenge, contestants come from far and near. But who will capture his daughter's heart? A celebration of character, purity, and true love. Ages 4 to 7. 40 pages, hardcover from Zonderkidz.
The King challenges three knights to prove their love for his daughter. True love wins in Karen Kingsbury’s heart-warming tale of inner beauty and devotion.
“Readable and offering a pointed message to young girls about what they should expect of their suitors, there’s nothing to dislike in Kingsbury’s text, and the illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard are gorgeous. Appropriately fairy tale like and romantic, they are also rich and vivid.” — Christian Children’s Book Review
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 stars(5 out of 5 stars)
4 of 4 Reviews Showing:
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Christy Lockstein (Oconto Falls, WIsconsin), September 27, 2009
The Princess and the Three Knights by Karen Kingsbury and Gabrielle Grimard is a beautifully illustrated fairy tale that will quickly become a family favorite. First, here are Mia's feelings about the book: I like it, I like the whole thing. The artwork is wonderful and fantastic. I learned that love always protects. My favorite part in the whole book was the happily ever after, because the princess and her husband looked so happy. I definitely want to keep this book forever! It makes me feel happy, and I love the book! Now my thoughts: Grimard's illustrations are just gorgeous and perfectly capture the fairy tale feel with an extra dose of pink to thrill its feminine readers. Kingsbury writes in the voice of classic fairy tales giving the book a timeless appeal. Her message of love always protecting is an important one to emphasize to little girls, and she does it with Scripture and through example. It's a book that will please both parents and their daughters.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Betty Rourk (North Charleston, SC), September 27, 2009
This is a wonderul book not only for girls, but also for boys. I purchased it for my granddaughters and then realized that it also would be great for the grandsons! It has a great message to be taken to heart by all those young men and women when they begin the "dating" scene! I would highly recommend it to all ages!!
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Penny Raine (Mt Pleasant TN), September 17, 2009
What a fun read for me on a rainy day! We actually got this in the mail last week on the same day we were working hay, the younger ones were sitting in the shade reading and coloring so they just devoured this book. I had the oldest of the 3 read it first and tell me if it was suitable, I am rather picky about reading material. Boy was I pleased with this book! I actually sat down to really check it out today and found it not only adorable but heartwarming.
All too often princess stories have something I object to in them, either esteeming physical beauty to a dangerous degree or some sort of witchcraft. This book had neither. It had a pure and innocent biblical approach to romance that would give little girls a desire for the one and only God chooses for them someday. It has a proper approach to beauty and the real meaning of the word and it had a real father figure.
The first page has Corinthians 13 on it and my 6 yr old with incredible reading skills immediately set to writing it in her journal. The story opens with a beautiful princess of course and a warm hearted king. There are three knights who would like the hand of the princess and the king takes a Solomon type approach of choosing the proper one. I won’t spoil the story but I will tell you it is wonderful.
Not only would I highly recommend this lovely story with beautiful illustrations, but I am eager to read more by this author.
5 stars !
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Kristina (USA), August 17, 2009
The princess in this book is not unlike princesses found in traditional fairy tales. She's the fairest maiden in the land, and every man would love to marry her. But her father, the King, wants to make sure her husband is worthy - that he recognizes and cherishes the beauty within his daughter's heart. So the King stages a competition "to determine which knights possessed great courage and strength, deep loyalty and kindness, and most of all a deep faith in God."
Three knights make it through this tournament to the final, most important test. The King asks them to pretend the princess is riding with them on their horse. They are to then ride as fast and hard as they can toward a cliff. "We will see which of you can take the princess closest to the cliff without going over the edge," the King says.
The first two knights push away their fear and come shockingly close to the edge of the cliff. The third knight remains calm and whispers "I can do everything through God who gives me strength." But when the King asks him to perform the test, he says "Your majesty, I love the princess. She is more precious to me than anything in the kingdom...I wouldn't take her anywhere near that cliff."
"'That,' the king shouted, 'is the right answer!'"
What I Like: Readable and offering a pointed message to young girls about what they should expect of their suitors, there's nothing to dislike in Kingsbury's text, and the illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard are gorgeous. Appropriately fairy tale like and romantic, they are also rich and vivid.
What I Dislike: My only complaint is that Grimard depicts the two knights who don't win the princess's hand as obvious villains. I'd rather see them at least as handsome as the knight who marries the King's daughter, since looks usually don't expose the beauty or ugliness of a person's heart.
Overall Rating: Excellent.
Kristina Seleshanko, Managing Editor
Christian Children's Book Review
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