The King's Locket

by Jacob Stull, Irene González Frizzera (Illustrator)

After adopting orphans Thomas and Anna at birth and giving them mysterious heart-shaped lockets, King Pador, Queen Sonya, and Prince Verdon must find a way to rescue the children from the sinister plans of a dreadful creature that has imprisoned them in the Outerlands. The Royal Family’s magical bond, the children they love dearly, and their entire kingdom are all at stake.

Children and adults will enjoy and benefit from this beautiful story of betrayal, forgiveness, and unconditional love. This classic fairy tale includes fourteen full-page, hand-drawn illustrations that bring the story’s vivid imagery to life.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens

58 pages, Paperback

Published April 27, 2017

About the author

Jacob lives in Atlanta with his wife, Katie, and two daughters, Ivy and Penny. When he’s not writing, he’s playing a supporting role in Ivy’s make-believe world or cleaning glitter out of his car.

Reviews

[Vicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read The King's Locket I was touched with the heart and messages that are included in this children's book. With strong lessons on forgiveness and family, the story unfolded beautifully. I read this with the seven-year-old and she enjoyed it as much as I did. There were moments where we stopped reading to discuss the lesson that had just been revealed. It was a lovely reading experience.

[Lori (a_bookworm_and_her_books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful beautiful fairy tale about unconditional love, courage, betrayal, forgiveness and strong family bonds. I loved reading it and I can't wait to read it to my niblings and children soon! Every kid should read ( or be read to) this book. it s the perfect bedtime story. Thank you so much Jacob Stull for sending me a copy of this book.

[Israel Drazin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This six-chapter magical tale with beautiful eye catching drawings is a beautiful story; indeed, it can be understood as a profound parable. The king of a happy country, a country filled with laughter, and his son the prince are unusually and properly physically connected. The country's queen has long silvery hair that is so long that it flows throughout the kingdom. The hair influences the people in the country and like their three leaders, they are joined in happiness, in laughter. Sadness is unknown in the country. Besides the joining of king and prince and the queen's silver hair, the three leaders wore a locket shaped like a heart, a magic locket.
But there was a man in the kingdom who was jealous of his leaders. He was the strongest soldier the three had. He felt he could rule better than them. He told the people lies about their leaders. Some men followed him. They rebelled, but king and prince were able to beat them, and the soldier and his men were expelled from the kingdom.
The three leaders discover two babies, a boy and a girl, and raise them as their own children. They give each child a locket. They fill the lockets with laughter and warn the children never to open the lockets.
The children grow and one day happen to come to the kingdom’s border where they are kidnaped by the rebel soldier, and are forced to open the lockets. They are held as prisoners.
Children will be thrilled to read the details which I only outlined. And more than that, they will want to know what happens next. What happens to the kingdom when the lockets are opened? How are the boy and girl held prisoner? Will the prince disconnect his unusual connection to the king and go to save the children? Can he succeed? What happens to the king, prince, queen, and citizen of the kingdom?

[Alexis (hookedtobooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to the author for sending this to me in exchange for an honest review!
Finished this short children’s book yesterday and it was cute. The story revolves around the tight connection between the king, queen, and prince of the realm. My favourite was the queen because her hair was what tied them together and was super strong! Like how cool is that!
Then the trio adopts these twins and they raise them with a lot of love and compassion. I don’t read a lot of children’s books anymore, and I don’t have children so I’m not an expert when it comes to books that kids would love, but I think kids would find this story catchy in the sense that there is royalty, but also a lot of love! The pictures in the book are also very eye appealing which should be great for kids!

[Luna B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to start this by thanking Jacob Stull for doing the giveaway, so thank-you!

I've enjoyed reading this and it will be a book I share with my son for a bedtime story book. The chapters are short and sweet, being six chapters long. So it was the perfect length to keep Damian interested.

The story teaches you about betrayal, courage, forgiveness and love, including unconditional love.

[Geoffrey Waugh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read The King’s Locket with delight as soon as I received it. This fairy tale will fascinate children and adults alike, and the beautiful drawings add a captivating visual dimension to the story. Children, especially, will enjoy colouring those drawings, and I suspect many adults will do so too.
The chapter headings give you a clue to the outline of the story, and even to the parallels in this lovely fairy tale parable. As I began reading I enjoyed the description of such a beautiful and mysterious kingdom. Very quickly I began seeing it as a parable of another beautiful and mysterious kingdom.
I especially liked the descriptions of the trinitarian qualities of the royal family.
Now here’s a dilemma! Many reviews may tell you what the parable represents. I prefer that you to discover it for yourself, so I just give you some clues. Different people will find different meanings and parallels in this engaging story. Maybe you could share your ideas in a family discussion or small group study. Most of you will see the significance of the wondrous kingdom, the royal family, rebellion, adoption being transformed, and the love and bravery of the Prince.
You will find many phrases in this story filled with special meaning, such as how they ruled the kingdom as one; he cared deeply; served as an advocate; obsession with power would lead to hatred and rebellion; fallen creatures; broken images; and the source of life for the entire kingdom. Many readers will guess where the story may lead, but you have to read it to find out how it happens.
The King’s Locket is lovely fairy tale that is also a powerful parable. You will probably want to get copies as presents for your children and friends.

[Lula · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story contains everything a fairytale should: happiness, envy, and the power of love. Looking at it from an adult view it makes me ponder over choices the author made in concerns, for example, to how the royal family is connected. These things most kids will overlook but it makes the story more interesting for me.

Two things I’d like to point out
- It’s not a very long story
- I’d suggest reading it out loud to a child (may be above their reading level)

I can also see this as a biblical interpretation broken down as an example for children. There isn’t anything written that plainly states this fact but it does contain the feeling. Either way it has some very good learning points and beautiful drawings that kids and kid-adults will enjoy coloring.

[Children's Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story! It’s perfect for teens, I’d say middle school and up however as a read aloud it’s very good for younger kids. It’s filled with all the elements of a magical fairy tale!
About a King, Queen and a Prince that have a magical bond and the three of them rule over their land together with love and compassion. They discover 2 babies in the forest and adopt them. As the children grow up they venture a little too far from the kingdom and are kidnapped into the “outerlands” beyond the kingdom boundaries. A rescue mission is mounted by the prince but to do so he would have to make a great sacrifice and break his magical bond with the king and queen and ride into to the unknown. There he would rescue the children and face down their captor. Upon their safe return the magical bond is restored and extended to the children as well in an epic ceremony celebrated by all the creatures in their realm.
I read this over 2 days with my second graders and they loved it. It’s only about 50 pages so it can be read fairly quickly as a bedtime story over several nights or in class.

[Ash Pappas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was marvelous! It is different than any children's story I have read, yet it still has the important themes of most children's stories. It tells about betrayal, love, courage, honestly, and forgiveness. It is a pure story that was very uplifting. It is a perfect story to read to your children, and I can't wait to read it to my son! I definitely recommend it to anyone with children.

[Deborah Annette Shaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

The King's Locket is a delightful read although at first, as an adult, the "physical connection" was unimaginable although I could see where it would be a comfort to a small child--before they hit the independent stage. Then it hit me! The illustrations are beautiful, the story has deep meaning--and the significance of certain phrases add to the depth of this story and the one it is similar to, although I don't want to give that away. Once I "got" it, I was delighted with the story.

[Doc Ski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magical story of love, betrayal, disobedience and forgiveness presented in a mystical kingdom of beauty and compassion. The King’s Locket highlights the bonds of love and family in times of happiness and of distress. Heroic risks, and valiant feats, performed within the framework of familial love bring two wayward siblings out of the darkness of despair and return them to the safety and sanctity of familial togetherness. A bedtime story to be enjoyed by children of all ages, best told by parent s and grandparents to their offspring. 06 Apr 2017

[Abraham Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a interesting book

[Monique Deane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received The King’s Locket from author Jacob Stull and I absolutely adored it! The King’s Locket is wonderful fairy tale about love, courage, family and forgiveness. While this book is primarily aimed at children, it has such a powerfully positive message that can be appreciated by children and adults alike!

The King’s Locket follows Queen Sonya, King Pador and Prince Verdon as they attempt to rescue their adopted children from a dreadful creature that has imprisoned them, restoring love and happiness to the kingdom. I really enjoyed every aspect of this book from the characters, to the magical setting and the flawless writing style. This book features fourteen full-page illustrations by Irene Gonzalez Frizzera that add so much magic and life to the story.

This is such a lovely story with a lot of heart and plenty of twists and surprises to keep you on your toes! I definitely recommend The King’s Locket to anyone needing a sweet little bedtime story, I’ll definitely be popping this one away for my own future children!



I give The King’s Locket by Jacob Stull 5 out of 5 stars.

[Progressional Fantasy Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoughts: I loved this book. I thought it was a really cool and powerful lesson that Jacob Stull put in this story: that you can't take the power of compassion, laughter, courage, and love - you have to nourish it and create it. I also loved the characters in this book. They always deliver and stop the evil from taking over. Another thing I loved about the story was the plot line. It was fun, exciting, and full of twists and surprises. Overall, I loved this amazing story, and I would give it a high five.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

[Alexandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful fairy tale about love, courage, betrayal, and forgiveness. I loved reading it and have read it to my children, my daughter is a huge fan of it and wants it to be a regular bedtime story now! Thank you Jacob Stull for sending me a copy of this book I really appreciate it!

[Kyera · Rating 4 out of 5]

The King's Locket is a lovely story about family and forgiveness. Throughout the short text, there are illustrations of important moments that children can marvel at. This is a book that a parent would need to read to their child, as there are some words that would be challenging for younger readers and require explanation. Overall, it was a cute story and I would definitely read it to my younger cousin when I babysit for her. I think she would enjoy the tale very much. I would probably rate it a 4.5/5 mostly because a child couldn't read it by themselves (although nightly reading to a child is important) thus it felt a little above a child's level at times.

[Minu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very grateful that the author of this book was so kind to give me an ebook copy of this amazing book. It was a fantastic read. It was a such a pleasure. I read it by myself but I guess this would be great to read to someone. I found that the story was set very strong and when you read it, you felt as if you were transported to somewhere fantastical. But I wouldn't give it five stars, reason being, I have read many children's books sent to me by authors and this one had a little too much of a stretch when something was described, I think if I was a six year old when reading this, I would have found it boring when the author was describing things in detail but for too long, a shorter time would've worked better.
But it was a great read, no doubt.

[Rachel Hope Crossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this sweet fairy tale! It reads like an historic tale but presents a modern twist with an active princess and prince and a king and queen who love their children so much that they are able to forgive a terrible betrayal. Traditional elements included are the use of triplicate repetition, a magical crown, enchanted lockets and the queen's hair which has beneficial powers. The adoption of twins, the family stability and the forgiveness of wrongdoing make this story a modern version of narratives from long gone days. A great book for kids or adults.