The old king has died. Who will now rule the Kindgom?
"It was said the old king had possessed secret powers against bandits and thieves ... "
This power comes from a special and magnificent Imperial Robe.
In three days the young prince will be crowned as the new king but (as is the way with all good fairy tales) the young prince's older half brother makes his own plan. He wants to take the power and exert his own control so he plots to destroy the Robe.
The Robe is destroyed but luckily the greedy half brother does this by slashing and and cutting the Robe and tossing it out into the wind so all is not lost.
Pieces of the Robe are found by young children out in the fields. The wise woman of the village can see this fabric is important and precious. She knows these are fragments of the Imperial Robe. There is not enough to remake the whole thing but she asks everyone to bring a piece of their own fabric. Treasured pieces of fabric - each piece has special significance for the giver. They "sewed them together with fragments of their own lives ... They did it out of love for you and for the kingdom."
Bookseller blurb: In a small kingdom along an ancient road, a bell rings out. The beloved king has died, leaving his magnificent and powerful Imperial Robe to his heir, the young prince. But when the prince’s jealous older half-brother steals the Imperial Robe, slashing it to bits, the prince can no longer rule—and the small kingdom is in great danger. Now the young prince must find another source of power and of strength—and he finds it in a surprising place.
It is a curious thing that the superb illustrator Tomie dePaola did not illustrate this book himself but in saying that I don't want to detract from the splendid illustrations by Doug Salati. This book was published in 2018 and sadly Tomie died in 2020. In a Small Kingdom is most certainly a book teachers and Teacher-Librarians could add to their read aloud pile. This book is out of print but it may be in a well stocked library. Here is a video of the whole book. The blurb says this story is a modern fairy tale and I agree. I would pair this book with The Empty Pot by Demi and The Quiltmaker's Gift.
In April 2022 a new book by Doug Salati will be published:
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