Forgettable tales

King Garnet Stories

By Marianne Parry

Paperback: 36 pages

Publisher: Matador (March 28, 2016)

ISBN-10: 178589076X

ISBN-13: 978-1785890765

 

Publisher’s Blurb:

King Garnet Stories is a collection of 3 tales about the well-loved and happy King Garnet, as well as his wife Queen Amanda and their friend King Grundle. King Garnet loves everyone in his kingdom and everyone in his kingdom loves him, One morning, he awakes to find his legs have grown in the night, so that his feet hang over the bed. At first, he is pleased to show off his new height but, as the days pass, his legs grow so fast that they reach the bedroom door - and even go half way down the grand staircase! Someone is calling a spell on him, but who can it be? King Garnet is so loved that surely no one would want to cause him harm...And more importantly, will his legs every shrink back to normal? Bored of hearing the story of his ever growing legs, Queen Amanda decides to put a stop to his yabbering. She makes a desperate bid to stop him from talking and magically he stops speaking all together! Last, but not least, we follow the story of King Grundle, King Garnet's oldest and most loyal friend. After a misunderstanding between the two kings, they decide to engage their bored soldiers in a mock battle. The people enjoy it so much that they decide to make it an annual event to unite the two kingdoms. Full of magic and adventure, King Garnet Stories is a fun and exciting collection of short stories for children aged 5 - 7 years old.

 

My Thoughts:

The premise is better than the execution. The illustrations help, but the stories are mostly telling, with very little dialogue or interaction. There is little conflict to drive the plot, and very little character development. The stories are...okay. My child lost interest quickly, because not enough happens to keep a reader engaged in the story. By the time I’d finished the book, I’d forgotten what the second of the three stories was even about. Really can’t say much more, it was just…forgettable.

 

Possible Objectionable Material:

A soldier is bored, so he almost causes a war. The Queen is bossy in a kind of stereotypical woman way.

 

Who Might Like This Book:

Someone who likes fairytale-type stories.

 

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.