The Invisible Kingdom

The Kingdom

by Rob Ryan

Gorgeous words and stunning illustrations combine in a book for anyone aged 8-80, by internationally renowned papercut artist Rob Ryan. Rob Ryan has collaborated with Paul Smith, Liberty, Fortnum and Mason and Tatty Devine, amongst others.

This is a story about a prince. He lived in a palace that seemed to have been specially designed to make someone who already felt small feel even smaller. He rarely saw his parents, who were always busy being the King and Queen; and, unlike other children, the Prince never spent time dreaming about what he would be when he grew up because he knew that when his father died, he would become King. It was his destiny.

The only person who treated the Prince like a normal child was the Bootman. Understanding that everyone needs something to call their own, the Bootman gave the Prince a pen with invisible ink and a special torch that allowed him to create a world that only he could see.

One night, as the Prince was drawing on the curtains that surrounded his bed, he noticed a small hole and beyond that a trapdoor, which led to the attic. And in the attic he found a window and a way to sneak out of the palace and experience the real world.

THE INVISIBLE KINGDOM is about a small boy, a big imagination and learning to be your own person.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Art, Fairy Tales

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 24, 2013

About the author

Rob Ryan is a British Paper cutter artist who specialises in papercutting, screen-printing and drawing and painting. He is now most famous for his detailed paper cut outs. Ryan was born on 5th November,1962 in Cyprus to Irish parents Doris and Buddy Ryan who divorced in 1966. He is the youngest of three brothers and his father was an RAF mess hall officer. He studied at Trent Polytechnic and has a Master of Arts in printmaking from the Royal College of Art/ He graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1987.

Reviews

[Atisak Chuengpattanawadee · Rating 5 out of 5]

ด้วยรสนิยมส่วนตัว ใจจึงนึกรักหนังสือเล่มนี้ไปเสียตั้งแต่อ่านได้เพียง 2-3 หน้า

หนังสือภาพเล่มนี้บอกเล่าเรื่องราวการเรียนรู้และเติบโตของเจ้าชายเดียวดายคนหนึ่ง หนังสือไม่ได้นำเสนอเรื่องราวและแนวคิดที่แปลกใหม่น่าตื่นตะลึงอะไร แต่กลับเป็นแนวทางเดิมๆ ที่เราคุ้นชิน ที่ตื่นเต้นและหลงรักอาจจะเป็นเพราะว่านานเกินไปแล้วที่เราไม่ได้สัมผัสกับเรื่องราวแบบนี้ ที่มาพร้อมกับภาพประกอบที่งดงาม และการจัดพิมพ์ที่ปราณีตออกมาเป็นหนังสือปกแข็งเล่มโตที่ทำให้ซึมซับความงามของภาพได้อย่างเต็มตา

เป็นความงามที่ไม่ได้หาสัมผัสกันได้บ่อยครั้งนัก. จึงรู้สึกเต็มอิ่มมากเป็นพิเศษ

[robynluckystars · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful! Brought a tear to my eye!

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story: 4 stars
Illustrations: 4 stars

A lonely young prince attempts to find his way in the world and be true to himself, despite his duty to train to become king someday. The cliffhanger ending is both an ending and a new beginning. The book is visually interesting, but many of the dark and colored pages are very hard on the eyes.

At 64 pgs, it is much too long, and rather text-heavy, for a picture book. And this is the first book of a planned trilogy. Rather than stuffing this story into three over-long picture books, this should have been published as one illustrated middle grade novel. This would have provided the additional benefit of allowing the text to be broken into chapters. As it is now, the continuous text doesn't flow smoothly, and there are some obvious places where much-needed chapter breaks would correct that issue.

I'm confused about the time period of the story. Due to the bootman and all the old-fashioned shoes/boots, I assumed this story was historical. But then the prince puts on running shoes and roams around a modern city. That juxtaposition seems odd to me.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was very pretty and I really like the idea of the story, but it didn't feel well told. I really wanted to like it but it felt a little dull. The vocabulary and length of the story makes it suited for 4-6th graders.

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could bring myself to, I'd probably only give this book 2 stars, but I'm sure a lot of love and care has gone into making it, so I shall stick with 3. This fairytale is not well told. There are strange leaps in the narrative, with several cases where one paragraph follows another on the page but there seems to be no connection at all. The mixture of modern with traditional doesn't work for me (a lot is made of the palace bootman, and yet apparently the young prince has running shoes, even though he is never allowed to leave the palace, and one cannot imagine he is allowed to run inside the palace). If you're a massive Rob Ryan fan the design and illustration may be enough for you to still enjoy this book, but it wasn't for me. There are lots of pages with pale text on black background. Very stylish looking but actually a nightmare to read - forget trying to read this at bedtime with reduced light! Some of the images also didn't work (for example the road cleaning lorry spraying water at angles that confuse you when you look closely). I wanted to love this book, but was left unsatisfied.

[Samantha Kilford · Rating 4 out of 5]

I immediately fell in love with this touching story of a little Prince growing up in a huge cold palace, emotionally distant from busy parents, the king and queen, who has to find his own happiness in his overprivileged, but under loved world. I liked him finding friendship with the Bootman of the palace who takes him under his wing.

I enjoyed following the Prince on his journey discovering the ordinary world outside the palace at night.

The book itself was bigger than expected, think A3 storybook size, but nevertheless it's made up by the beautiful illustrations on the pages which exactly capture the feelings of the little Prince in the large lonely world of the palace without hugs.

The Invisible Kingdom has been one of my favourites since I got it for Christmas. It's a short read (approximately one day as it's not a lengthy novel) and I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed it as these kinds of 'picture books' (illustrated pages) have never been my thing, but The Invisible Kingdom changed that. The narrative is brilliant and I can't wait to read more of Rob Ryan's books.

[Inkey's Bookpacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

“อย่าพูดอะไรต่อนะ เพราะความลับที่ยิ่งใหญ่ที่สุดในโลก คือความลับที่ไม่มีใครรู้”
Book: เจ้าชายเดียวดายในอาณาจักรล่องหน (The Invisible Kingdom)
Writer: Rob Ryan
#หยิบมาเพราะ
รู้จักงานชิ้นนี้เพราะผู้แปลคือเฮียวรรณสิงห์ สายเถื่อนที่เราติดตาม เป็นงานเก่าตั้งแต่ปี 2016 ที่หาเล่มได้ยากเต็มทีแล้ว
#ภาพรวม
ออกจะเป็นนิทานมากกว่านิยาย มีการสร้างรายละเอียดโลกในจินตนาการเยอะ เทคนิคเล่าก็ดูแปลกใหม่ อ่านๆไป ก็จินตนาการเสียงพี่สิงห์พากย์ไปด้วยก็พอใช้ได้ 555
เรื่องราวเกี่ยวกับเจ้าชายน้อยที่เติบโตมาในพระราชวัง และไม่เคยออกไปข้างนอกที่ไหนเลย แถมยังต้องศึกษาเรียนรู้วิชาการต่าง ๆ มากมายจนทำให้ห่างเหินกับทุกคนรอบกาย แม้แต่พระราชาและราชินีผู้เป็นพ่อแม่ก็ตาม มีเพียงเพื่อนสนิทเพียงคนเดียวที่พูดคุยอย่างเปิดอกได้ คือชายผู้ทำหน้าที่ขัดรองเท้าอยู่ชั้นใต้ดินเท่านั้น
เรื่องเกิดเมื่อเจ้าชายค้นพบห้องลับบนเพดานห้องนอนตัวเอง ที่เมื่อไต่ไปเรื่อย ๆ ก็ทำให้ไปเจอกับหน้าต่างที่นำพาให้เจ้าชายได้ออกนอกวังเป็นครั้งแรก และได้พบกับสิ่งตื่นตาตื่นใจนอกวัง ที่เปิดหูเปิดตา และมุมมองใหม่ๆให้เจ้าชาย
จัดว่าเป็นนิทานที่อ่านสนุก เพลินๆ ดี และภาพประกอบก็สวยงามเติมเต็มจินตนาการดีมากเลยค่ะ
เรื่องในเล่มนี้เป็นเพียง 1 ใน 3 เล่มในชุดไตรภาค ยังมีอีก 2 เล่มคือ The Kingdom Revealed และ The Invincible Kingdom ซึ่งดูจากเวลาที่นานมากแล้ว ไม่มีวี่แววที่จะแปลเล่มไทยให้เราได้อ่าน น่าเสียดายมากเลยค่ะ สงสัยต้องตามหาจาก ebooks แทนแล้ว

[V · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Invisible Kingdom Trilogy is a contemporary fairytale that highlights the value of sacrifice, friendship, and persistence through three stories with an evil villain, a prince in peril, and a happy ending that following a heart stopping adventure.

When young prince John's father dies and John is thrust into the role of king, the pressure of palace life becomes too much to bear; he repeatedly sneaks out of the palace for a nightly walk through the capital. The power-hungry Prime Minister learns of the perambulations and restricts the prince to his bedroom, prompting the prince to flee for good. After experiencing homelessness, charity, entry-level employment, and love, his fulfilling existence is threatened by the Prime Minister who replaced him with a pliable imposter. The prince, with the support of his beloved, devises a creative plan to ensure his freedom.

Artfully and compellingly written, this trilogy captivated me so effectively I had to be called more than once before I looked up from the final book. The illustrations complement the text seamlessly to create a magical experience that drives home the importance of loved ones, finding fulfillment, and the reward of using one's gifts in service to others.

Ideal for middle grade readers. I cannot recommend the trilogy highly enough!

[Inger-Johanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this in the children's section of the library and thought I'd read it to see if I would recommend it to my kids.
It's quite a long story for being a picture book, and makes several twists and turns, plus the art is impressive. I was a little disappointed by the end until I realized that this is the first book of a trilogy. So now I've asked the library to please buy the other two books and I'm looking forward to see how it continues.
The story is about finding out who you are and what you want, about loneliness and responsibilities, about finding friendship in unlikely places, about how kids need adults who can support them, about how to cope in a difficult situation and making the best of it... Lots of nice things to ponder.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful picture book for older readers - probably grades 4-6, although range could be extended either way. Cut paper illustrations help tell the story of a lonely little prince isolated by his royalty and yearning for friendship. The only complaint I have is that occasionally the text got a little lost/difficult to read against the illustrations. Also, it may be a hard sell to a target audience who wants "grown-up" books, even though the text is for older children, the large format and illustrations make it look like a "little kid" book.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely storybook and quite a relaxed read. Simple but lovely storybooks like this one can be enjoyed by anybody. Looking from an illustrators point of view, the artwork in this book is beautiful and the dreamy blue colour palette is kept well throughout. It's a shadowed style of illustration but it is quite fitting to the book. The story itself is a nice little one, some say the downside to this book is that it is "text-heavy" which personally I disagree with. I think sharing books like this with children is a great start to an introduction to reading books with more text.

[Angelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I know that people need something to call their own. Even a king who can, at the click of his fingers, command anything he wants, any time he wants it, needs to have something that truly belongs to him alone, even if it's only a dream."

***

"The greatest secret in the world is the secret that is never told. At first it seems so big that you feel as if you can't hold it in, but if you manage to keep it within yourself you will see it begin to grow into something more rich and more beautiful than you ever could have imagined."

[Gabriel · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Invisible Kingdom by Rob Ryan is realistic fiction. The problem is the prince does not want to be king when his father dies. Will he be king or will he break out of the castle? The main characters are: The prince, the bootman, the queen, and the king. *Spoiler alert* The lesson was to be yourself. My favorite part was when the prince could escape. My least favorite part was when the prince was stuck in the boring castle. People who like king should read this book.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Invisible Kingdom is probably a more advanced picture book. It is heavier with text and the imagery, inspired by or created through print-making processes, is somewhat abstract. I wonder a bit about what ages might encounter it or how adults discover it to read to young ones.
The imagery is beautiful, especially in the early exposition. The story is poignant, although with a somewhat abrupt to-be-continued ending.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was beautifully illustrated; however, the plot wasn't anything new and lost the interest of my child pretty quickly (I tried for almost a month to get them to read it, and eventually just finished it myself bc they couldn't be bothered). I'm not sure what the intended demographic is, but it's a pretty hefty book for younger kids, and I'm not sure engaging enough for older kids. Will say, one more time though, the art is really lovely.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just OK. As other reviewers have mentioned the book is beautifully illustrated. The story is fairly slow and the prose is flowery and full of exposition but not a lot of development. It's more suitable for older YA readers. I liked the idea of the key and the story could have been built up more strongly with it as the focus.

[Ellen Zarate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whimsical story about a boy destined to be king--maybe. When the prince finds a way to leave the palace where he spends day after day preparing to be king, and he explores the real world around him, he is spurred on by a friendship with a lowly bootman to follow his dream and live his secret. Beautiful! Recommend!

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you loved Roman Holiday, you will love this. It is a picture book, but is for advanced readers, so best recommending it to 4-6 graders. I was very surprised when the book ended with a cliffhanger and am now dying to read the next one!

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of like the first two books of Gormenghast retold for children with artwork in a beautiful woodcut style and I would not have realized what a charming package that makes before I pulled it off the shelves by chance.

[Shay Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really neat illustrated story of a boy who would become king. The silhouettes throughout the book make for an awesome through line. And weaving the words into spaces in the art made for a great visual journey. Read this!

[Nantiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

"จงทำสิ่งที่ใจลูกเชื่อว่าถูก แม้ว่าโลกทั้งโลกจะไม่เห็นด้วย"
เกือบน้ำตาซึม กับฉากเจ้าชายเดียวดายยืนอ่านรอยจารึกหน้าฐานรูปปั้นของเมือง (ฉากที่ดีที่สุดสำหรับเรา)

ปล. แต่ตอนจบค้างนิดๆ ... ที่แท้เป็นเล่มแรกชุดไตรภาค the invisible kingdom
ปล.2 อยากรู้ว่าเจ้าชายเดียวดายจะไปยังไงต่อนะ

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one much more than The Kingdom Revealed. The illustrations are still what make the book so pleasant to look at.

[Cat Fithian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deep, meaningful, kind of a morality story. Coming of age to be your own person.

[Elizabeth Stifel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a morose book, but sometimes those are the best.

[Sarah N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story = 3 stars, but the beautiful paper-cut illustrations are 5 stars!

[Lindsay]

Beautiful paper cut illustrations.

[Zoe Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so beautifully illustrated and yet it doesn’t seem like a children’s book at all, I think maybe there’s a lesson for every age

[Stephanie Bonin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please run out and get this 1st in the trilogy today! Tears streaming at different parts of this special book.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. The illustrations are simply gorgeous. A contemporary fairy tale about an unhappy prince looking for life and love outside the guilded walls of the palace.

[orchidal · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the children books you sob to