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Tales of the Kingdom #3
Tales of the Restoration
Hero, Amanda, Thespia, and Little Child strive to restore Bright City while the battle with the Enchanter's minions rages on.
The one True King has broken the reign of the evil Enchanter and the restoration has begun. Enjoy Grandma Vigilantes, the Girl with the Very Loud Outside Voice, along with beloved friends Little Child, the Princess Amanda, Hero, and others. Each character is learning how to find a special place in Bright City, to do a job no one else can do.
An exciting series from award-winning authors David and Karen Mains, Tales of the Restoration offer fast-paced action and exciting storytelling with a Christian theme. You’ll enjoy the beautiful, full-color illustrations as well.
In Tales of the Restoration, the long awaited conclusion in the Kingdom Tales trilogy, the restoration has begun. Between power-outs, mudslinging, and peril at Burning Place, our heroes look to celebrate life under the King’s reign, and enjoy the Great Celebration.
The one True King has broken the reign of the evil Enchanter and the restoration has begun. Enjoy Grandma Vigilantes, the Girl with the Very Loud Outside Voice, along with beloved friends Little Child, the Princess Amanda, Hero, and others. Each character is learning how to find a special place in Bright City, to do a job no one else can do.
An exciting series from award-winning authors David and Karen Mains, Tales of the Restoration offer fast-paced action and exciting storytelling with a Christian theme. You’ll enjoy the beautiful, full-color illustrations as well.
In Tales of the Restoration, the long awaited conclusion in the Kingdom Tales trilogy, the restoration has begun. Between power-outs, mudslinging, and peril at Burning Place, our heroes look to celebrate life under the King’s reign, and enjoy the Great Celebration.
124 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1996
14 people are currently reading
246 people want to read
About the author
David R. Mains
61 books24 followersDavid R. Mains has been dedicating himself for spiritual growth development programs that disturb ordinary presumptions. During the year 1967 he built an experimental church in a Teamster’s Union Hall in West Chicago. Some church-planting specialists proclaimed that it can't be done but then with a few supporters, the church has grown from only 27 until 500 for ten years.
Mains' system is advanced that he joined together worship with arts and media. He implement a system to service planning focusing one concept making the entire worship communication into just a single but valuable idea. Lay people were invited and brainstorm sermons and he firmly incorporated that each sermon should include practical ideas so it will be integrated with everyday living as Christians.
During the year 1977, Mains replaced his uncle John D. Jess as Director of a national radio broadcast, The Chapel of the Air. He then started to use religious media that would boost spirituality on every listener.
Mains transformed broadcasting as a service to the local church rather than competing them. He then began to train a team to do on-air voices which includes his wife, Karen Mains.
Several experts again warned him that such a service can’t be done but then he was thrilled when the first Spiritual Adventure he implemented had reach 7,000 participants.
Mains has been a Christian communicator and his passion was always for the local church to experience the living presence of Jesus Christ. A pastor once gave him a gratitude for putting his own personal agenda to serve for the good of the local church.
Now, Mains resigned from the broadcast and created Mainstay Ministries which dedicated to help church leaders and its people by several growth tools and training seminars. He established Team Sundays where every church goer would experience a life changing Sunday. His goal in Mainstay Ministries was to help pastors be effective in preaching.
Visit David Mains Mainstay Ministries the - Sunday Solutions. He also put up several resources for pastors called Sermon Series and Sermon Coach. He also established a mentoring ministry for men and women called Hungry Souls.
Mains' system is advanced that he joined together worship with arts and media. He implement a system to service planning focusing one concept making the entire worship communication into just a single but valuable idea. Lay people were invited and brainstorm sermons and he firmly incorporated that each sermon should include practical ideas so it will be integrated with everyday living as Christians.
During the year 1977, Mains replaced his uncle John D. Jess as Director of a national radio broadcast, The Chapel of the Air. He then started to use religious media that would boost spirituality on every listener.
Mains transformed broadcasting as a service to the local church rather than competing them. He then began to train a team to do on-air voices which includes his wife, Karen Mains.
Several experts again warned him that such a service can’t be done but then he was thrilled when the first Spiritual Adventure he implemented had reach 7,000 participants.
Mains has been a Christian communicator and his passion was always for the local church to experience the living presence of Jesus Christ. A pastor once gave him a gratitude for putting his own personal agenda to serve for the good of the local church.
Now, Mains resigned from the broadcast and created Mainstay Ministries which dedicated to help church leaders and its people by several growth tools and training seminars. He established Team Sundays where every church goer would experience a life changing Sunday. His goal in Mainstay Ministries was to help pastors be effective in preaching.
Visit David Mains Mainstay Ministries the - Sunday Solutions. He also put up several resources for pastors called Sermon Series and Sermon Coach. He also established a mentoring ministry for men and women called Hungry Souls.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
May 30, 2022
Beautiful conclusion to the first two books, showcasing what it means to live after the New Day and see the kingdom slowly being brought to final restoration. The first few stories were slow and disappointing in comparison with the first two books, but the remaining ones were as good as I remember. And one particular plot twist always catches me off guard. Nonetheless, I love these books and the allegories they present. I understand why the world-building is so vastly different from the first two books, but I do miss the same type of story and action, even while I understand it not being there. That is the only reason I've docked a star.
October 24, 2015
This collection is like a reunion of the characters from the other Kingdom books, many whom have lost their purpose and need reminded of it.
October 6, 2025
not my favorite in the series but still great lessons to take with you.
December 12, 2016
I read this aloud to my four children (11, 9, 4, and 2) and will definitely be reading it again and again in years to come! A lot of these stories really got me choked up, challenged me, and helped us see some things in a new beautiful way. The authors have a deep understanding of the Christian life and incredible imaginations. The lessons learned have come up repeatedly in conversation with my older two since reading this together, and I look forward to exposing these stories to my younger kids as they get older.
February 24, 2014
Loved this one too, as the King and his people work at the restoration of the city, which was once Enchanted City, but is now freed from the Enchanter and now called Bright City. Hero and the others are grown now, and are joyfully working in the Restoration. In the midst of it, love blooms, and I always love the angst of love stories, so this was a nice ending to this trilogy.
September 22, 2007
I actually liked this one better than the first... again a childhood favorite.
September 29, 2007
To the King! To the Restoration!
July 21, 2011
Good, but without the magic and danger of the two prequels, not nearly as exciting.
April 26, 2012
Reading this three book series to my kids. We all love it. Lots of heart in this story.
January 12, 2013
Not quite as good as the first - tales of the Kingdom & the 2nd - Tales of the Resistance.
Still an excellent book. They are all better in the hardback editions or on audio!
Still an excellent book. They are all better in the hardback editions or on audio!
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August 11, 2016The edition I really want is out of print and would probably cost me a bundle, but I would love to own the trilogy and pass it down to my kids.
August 16, 2014
Not as good as first two but still quite good.
February 8, 2015
This is not my favorite book in the series, Tales of the Kingdom is, but I really Tales of the Restoration. It is a good ending book for the series.
May 4, 2024
A synopsis of the short stories in Vol 3: spiritual truths about a larger story. (5 stars)
This is the third of the three volume “Kingdom Tales” series, each of which has twelve fantasy short stories. The stories are connected to a larger story about a city ruled by an evil Enchanter who has usurped the throne from the true King, and who is now in exile. But the true King will eventually return and bring about the Great Celebration, restoring the city into Bright City. While this larger narrative has clear allegorical qualities that Christians will immediately recognize, the stories aren’t strict allegories, but function more like religious fables, drawing on important spiritual truths about faith and serving the King Jesus Christ.
The short stories all function separately and often involve different characters. But there is a frequently returning character, Scarboy, who is an orphan boy. Over the course of the series he escapes from the Enchanted City with his brother Little Child, and eventually becomes Hero in the service of the King.
With the lifting of the enchantment, the Enchanted City has become the Bright City and in Volume 3 the evil Enchanter has been vanquished to the Garbage Dump outside the city, but he and his henchmen still attack the city and try to penetrate its protection. One of the most memorable tales is “Mudslinging”, which describes how some of the King’s People in the Bright City are throwing mud at each other. In the middle of the chaos, is a streetcleaner, who cleans the mud from the street in the middle of the fight. The mudslinging stops when it becomes evident that the cleaner is the King himself. The lesson is clearer than mud: Frivolous arguments among fellow believers about who serves God best can detract from their real task in serving God’s kingdom, and grieve the King Himself.
Here's an overview of the twelve stories from Volume 3:
1. Grandma Vigilantes – While the Bright City sleeps, daring grandmas keep watch for Naysayers, Burners or Breakers who dare to invade the King’s City.
2. Crossing Alone – Little Child fights dangers of darkness as he crosses from Great Park to Bright City.
3. Safe Places – Little Child learns about Safe Places - shelters of protection in Bright City where anyone could learn the ways of the 4. King and the Kingdom, and also meets Thespia and Hero.
4. Power-Outs – Former Sewer Rat Benji (who always looks down) & former Boiler Brat Eddie (who always looks up) learn that they can harm the kingdom by failing to work together and be faithful to their assignments.
5. Mudslinging – The King appears as a streetcleaner to teach the Kings people not to throw mud at one another.
6. The Girl with the Very Loud Outside Voice – By helping the Coldmeister in the Cold Storing Locker, Agatha Ann discovers that even her Very Loud Outside Voice has a purpose and place in the Kingdom.
7. Peril at Burning Place – Hero is left by Amanda, and must fight the dark dangers at Burning Place alone.
8. Sighters Are Not Afraid – Amanda teaches Little Child that sighters are not afraid, which he discovers as they rescue Lost Children by telling them stories.
9. Prima the Ballerina – Unlike the natural dancer Carny who focuses on teaching others, Prima is obsessed with being the best dancer, and constantly looks at her image in the mirror.
10. Taxi! – Little Child becomes Hunter and receives training in taxi-lore, and with the King’s help spends a day walking in Kingsways and seeing Bright City as it was meant to be.
11. The Song Studio – The evil Music Maestro is exposed for making people fat with sweetsounds, and the music of the King’s Songs is once again given to the hungry and lonely Lost Children who need it first.
12. The Great Celebration – Hero and Thespia are married.
It’s somewhat hard to tell how successful these stories on their own apart from the underlying spiritual truths they are communicating, because in most instances the moral and message is quite transparent, although in the case of a few tales it is obscure. Overall the message about serving and honouring the King Jesus Christ comes through loud and clear, and it was this deeper meaning that made the stories especially enjoyable for me.
The concept is like the Narnia Chronicles, although arguably not with the same degree of success or imagination. The Narnian stories can also function on the level of stories alone, but I suspect that those who don’t appreciate the deeper meaning behind the Kingdom Tales will find it hard to enjoy them as stand-alone stories for their own sake. But even though the world isn’t as fantastic as Narnia, Christian families will find themselves appreciating the Kingdom Tales of the Mains for similar reasons, because of their spiritual depth, and how they lead to a greater love for the King and His Kingdom.
This is the third of the three volume “Kingdom Tales” series, each of which has twelve fantasy short stories. The stories are connected to a larger story about a city ruled by an evil Enchanter who has usurped the throne from the true King, and who is now in exile. But the true King will eventually return and bring about the Great Celebration, restoring the city into Bright City. While this larger narrative has clear allegorical qualities that Christians will immediately recognize, the stories aren’t strict allegories, but function more like religious fables, drawing on important spiritual truths about faith and serving the King Jesus Christ.
The short stories all function separately and often involve different characters. But there is a frequently returning character, Scarboy, who is an orphan boy. Over the course of the series he escapes from the Enchanted City with his brother Little Child, and eventually becomes Hero in the service of the King.
With the lifting of the enchantment, the Enchanted City has become the Bright City and in Volume 3 the evil Enchanter has been vanquished to the Garbage Dump outside the city, but he and his henchmen still attack the city and try to penetrate its protection. One of the most memorable tales is “Mudslinging”, which describes how some of the King’s People in the Bright City are throwing mud at each other. In the middle of the chaos, is a streetcleaner, who cleans the mud from the street in the middle of the fight. The mudslinging stops when it becomes evident that the cleaner is the King himself. The lesson is clearer than mud: Frivolous arguments among fellow believers about who serves God best can detract from their real task in serving God’s kingdom, and grieve the King Himself.
Here's an overview of the twelve stories from Volume 3:
1. Grandma Vigilantes – While the Bright City sleeps, daring grandmas keep watch for Naysayers, Burners or Breakers who dare to invade the King’s City.
2. Crossing Alone – Little Child fights dangers of darkness as he crosses from Great Park to Bright City.
3. Safe Places – Little Child learns about Safe Places - shelters of protection in Bright City where anyone could learn the ways of the 4. King and the Kingdom, and also meets Thespia and Hero.
4. Power-Outs – Former Sewer Rat Benji (who always looks down) & former Boiler Brat Eddie (who always looks up) learn that they can harm the kingdom by failing to work together and be faithful to their assignments.
5. Mudslinging – The King appears as a streetcleaner to teach the Kings people not to throw mud at one another.
6. The Girl with the Very Loud Outside Voice – By helping the Coldmeister in the Cold Storing Locker, Agatha Ann discovers that even her Very Loud Outside Voice has a purpose and place in the Kingdom.
7. Peril at Burning Place – Hero is left by Amanda, and must fight the dark dangers at Burning Place alone.
8. Sighters Are Not Afraid – Amanda teaches Little Child that sighters are not afraid, which he discovers as they rescue Lost Children by telling them stories.
9. Prima the Ballerina – Unlike the natural dancer Carny who focuses on teaching others, Prima is obsessed with being the best dancer, and constantly looks at her image in the mirror.
10. Taxi! – Little Child becomes Hunter and receives training in taxi-lore, and with the King’s help spends a day walking in Kingsways and seeing Bright City as it was meant to be.
11. The Song Studio – The evil Music Maestro is exposed for making people fat with sweetsounds, and the music of the King’s Songs is once again given to the hungry and lonely Lost Children who need it first.
12. The Great Celebration – Hero and Thespia are married.
It’s somewhat hard to tell how successful these stories on their own apart from the underlying spiritual truths they are communicating, because in most instances the moral and message is quite transparent, although in the case of a few tales it is obscure. Overall the message about serving and honouring the King Jesus Christ comes through loud and clear, and it was this deeper meaning that made the stories especially enjoyable for me.
The concept is like the Narnia Chronicles, although arguably not with the same degree of success or imagination. The Narnian stories can also function on the level of stories alone, but I suspect that those who don’t appreciate the deeper meaning behind the Kingdom Tales will find it hard to enjoy them as stand-alone stories for their own sake. But even though the world isn’t as fantastic as Narnia, Christian families will find themselves appreciating the Kingdom Tales of the Mains for similar reasons, because of their spiritual depth, and how they lead to a greater love for the King and His Kingdom.
October 20, 2019
Journey to a Kingdom not so far away to discover the true King
The 3rd book in the Tales of the Kingdom series follows Hero, once known as Scar Boy and Hunter, once known as Little Child in the adventures in Bright City. Reclaiming the city from the enchanter takes faith in the true King and perseverance.
The 3rd book in the Tales of the Kingdom series follows Hero, once known as Scar Boy and Hunter, once known as Little Child in the adventures in Bright City. Reclaiming the city from the enchanter takes faith in the true King and perseverance.
March 12, 2021
This series is amazing, have to be some of my favorite allegorical stories to read with my kids and one we will have to revisit as they grow. My kids seemed to love them as well and I felt like bt the 3 books there was a story in there that anyone could relate to and realize that the King loves you no matter who you are. The story about “A girl named dirty” was one that turned on the waterworks for me and one of my favorite lines from the series and is esp appropriate for today is “How goes the world? The world goes not well BUT the Kingdom comes!” ❤️
September 15, 2021
Despite having read the first two books in this series too many times to count, this was the first time I finished Book 3. I thought it lacking compared to the first two, but still found the stories thought-provoking in their own way. It was nice to see more of how the authors intended to restore Enchanted City (now Bright City) and bring about the Restoration.
October 6, 2018
Love this series. Very imaginative. Positive messages.
June 29, 2019
Our least favorite of the series due to stories' lack of depth.
November 14, 2020
Allegorical series that was a favorite in our family
February 9, 2022
The third and final installment of a wonderful series!
2022 Challenge: A book for children or teens.
2022 Challenge: A book for children or teens.
July 1, 2022
I want this set of books on my shelf!
September 6, 2024
A strange little series that I think at times is trying to be more significant than it is. I read these aloud to my 4th and 6th grade homeschooled kids.
April 26, 2025
We can all agree the ending was wrong. But otherwise a pleasant finish to a good series.
September 16, 2025
Our whole family loved this series. We just wish there were more!
December 21, 2016
Twelve more stories in the last book of the trilogy. This one did not end each tale with a written moral to contemplate. The hidden truth was implied in the reading.
Time has passed since we met the major characters. Much growth and wisdom. A new found purpose - destiny or place in the Kingdom.
Restoration, to me, in biblical terms means to go back to the original plan/purpose, especially after getting off course or adversity interference. Did all end like this in these tales? To me NO! The tales end with a celebration and I'm left confused and wanting more answers. Why so many loose ends? Where's Sovereign? What happened to the Enchanter and his crew? Where are the punishments? Where's the Rewards?
I don't see a logical conclusion. Why name Restoration? To me this restoration wasn't complete. There's so much that still needs to be done. I'm happy for Hero, but isn't Restoration suppose to be for all in the Kingdom?
Of the three parts in this trilogy, this is my least favorite. I'm left wanting more...no resolve...only unanswered questions. Why start the trilogy without a definite conclusion?
Maybe it's the adult in me. I guess I need to look from a child's perspective. See this as fairy tales and maybe the ending for the main character is fine. As an allegory pushing a personal relationship with the King and Restoration of His people, I'm so disappointed!!! Ugh! I need more! I need this to be done better! I don't want an afterthought, but a full blown positive conclusion as representative of Restoration!!
I shouldn't fret...at least I was able to read thirty-six reasonably done tales with a moral to boot.
I do recommend this book to read, for the stories were compelling, but it's mis-titled, to me. I could give this book a 3.5 star rating.
Time has passed since we met the major characters. Much growth and wisdom. A new found purpose - destiny or place in the Kingdom.
Restoration, to me, in biblical terms means to go back to the original plan/purpose, especially after getting off course or adversity interference. Did all end like this in these tales? To me NO! The tales end with a celebration and I'm left confused and wanting more answers. Why so many loose ends? Where's Sovereign? What happened to the Enchanter and his crew? Where are the punishments? Where's the Rewards?
I don't see a logical conclusion. Why name Restoration? To me this restoration wasn't complete. There's so much that still needs to be done. I'm happy for Hero, but isn't Restoration suppose to be for all in the Kingdom?
Of the three parts in this trilogy, this is my least favorite. I'm left wanting more...no resolve...only unanswered questions. Why start the trilogy without a definite conclusion?
Maybe it's the adult in me. I guess I need to look from a child's perspective. See this as fairy tales and maybe the ending for the main character is fine. As an allegory pushing a personal relationship with the King and Restoration of His people, I'm so disappointed!!! Ugh! I need more! I need this to be done better! I don't want an afterthought, but a full blown positive conclusion as representative of Restoration!!
I shouldn't fret...at least I was able to read thirty-six reasonably done tales with a moral to boot.
I do recommend this book to read, for the stories were compelling, but it's mis-titled, to me. I could give this book a 3.5 star rating.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews