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 EditorChristian Children's Book Review

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 wont 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 !

From talented author Karen Kingsbury comes a wonderful story of a King who challenges the knights in the land to win the hand of his precious princess. After enduring tests of their strength and courage, three knights stand poised to win her hand, with only one challenge left to determine the final victor. Each knight must imagine that the princess is on their horse, and race as close as possible to a cliff's edge. However, little do the knights know that what the King really values is the one who will treasure his daughter simply for who God has made her to be. As the final test unfolds before a spellbound crowd, you may be surprised at just who captures the heart of the princess!

My girls absolutely love this story, and we have read it over and over again. They were immediately captivated by the idea of a contest being held to determine who would marry the princess, and were gripped by the suspense of the final challenge. Kingsbury has put her story-telling gift to excellent use, crafting a story that is beautiful to read and will leave you smiling from ear to ear. The illustrations from Grimard are simply gorgeous, and I am not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the most beautiful children's books I have come across in some time. I also couldn't be happier about my children enjoying a book with such a powerful message about the importance of faith and God and the true nature about love, which is patient and kind and always protects.

I urge you to get this book for your children, as I guarantee that it will be an instant hit. I highly recommend it and award it 5 out of 5 stars.

Book has been provided courtesy of the publisher, Zondervan (Zonderkidz), for the purposes of this unbiased review.

Karen Kingsbury not only writes life-changing fiction for adults, but for our children as well in the lovely tale entitled "The Princess and the Three Knights". With beautiful and intricate illustrations by Gabrielle Grimard the story just comes to life. The Princess is a beautiful girl on the outside, again as beautifully demonstrated through the illustrations, as she is on the inside. Her father the king is in search of a knight with a heart as beautiful as that of his daughter and so he arranges a competition to find such a knight. This competition will test the knight to ascertain if he has the right character qualities such as courage, strength and a deep faith in God. In the end the character of the right knight is shown and there is a happily ever after.

This story starts out with the scripture from 1 Cor.13:4,7 and really highlights the scriptural principle that "Love protects". I really appreciated the author's pointing out that the character and faith of the knight was the most important thing- really good lessons for little girls. As the mother of girls, I think this is important to drive home. I'm sure that you will enjoy reading this beautifull illustrated and well-written book to the special little girl(s) in your life.

Great message in this story for both girls and boys! I love the ending!