Customer Reviews

The King's Legacy: A Story of Wisdom for the Ages

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Reason for Reading: The fairy tale nature of the story caught my attention.

Summary: The king is getting older and wants to leave something behind for the people in ages to come to remember him by. Various items are suggested: a building, a statue, a coin then his eldest wise man suggests he proclaim the wisdom for all ages. After several nights of consideration, the king chooses wisdom but he doesn't know what the wisdom of all ages is so he asks his wise men to tell him. Well they take a few nights and days then the king calls them and is rather perturbed when his wise men admit even they cannot agree on what the wisdom for all ages is. So the king decides to take it to the people and every day forth his court listens to a citizen impart the wisdom he has to share while the king takes it all in trying to find what is the single greatest wisdom of the ages. "Little does he know that the profound answer will come from the most unexpected and unassuming of places."

Comments: This is an inspirational book. Each chapter has a different towns person from physicians and judges to farmers and labourers describing the wisdom they have learnt through living their own life, working their own job. Each one leaves the reader with a truth and something to ponder. While each chapter does focus on the towns person's speech, there is room enough at the beginning of each to keep the storyline of the king and his court going forward. The king himself turns out to be much more wise than those surrounding him and the reader feels secure the king is capable of making this big decision.

The book's promotional material promotes the book for all readers and a quick glance at the book with the simple illustrations and page decorations mistakenly make the book look like a children's book. It is not a kid's book; I'm more apt to say it is an adult book that can also be enjoyed by children. Older children can read it themselves but younger ones will want to have it read to them, even if they can manage the reading level, as some of the chapters' messages are a bit deep and would benefit from discussion. I also see this as a nice gift book for a reflective type of person who likes to read inspirational, meditative material.

The King's Legacy is published by a Christian publisher but it does not contain any religious material whatsoever. It simply presents Christian themes which are relevant to all of humanity, no matter what creed, such as honesty, work ethic, good health, collective knowledge, service to others, etc.

I enjoyed this small book. It is easy to read but filled with immense knowledge and wisdom. The king has decided that rather than a monument to his greatness he will proclaim something as "The Wisdom of the Ages" as his legacy. Each chapter finds a medieval king sitting in his Throne Room listening to someone from his land explain what they think is the Wisdom from their point of view and experience. It reinterates that everyone has wisdom and knowledge no matter what their status in society or age. It also points out that no matter what century we live in, wisdom is universal and ageless. Although this book is billed as a children's book it has much to teach the adult. An excellent book.

The King's Legacy: A Story of the Wisdom of the Ages, by author Jim Stovall returns in an updated gift edition. This delightful children's book comes with a profound message: sometimes wisdom is where you least expect it.

In a land far away, in an enchanted kingdom, the king is nearing the end of his reign and he longs to leave a message for his people. But he can't decide on what would be best - a fitting memorial to his throne? A coin bearing his image? A statue carved in his likeness? But he then has a remarkable idea: To discover the most profound words of wisdom in the world. So he invites citizens from everywhere in his realm to share the best of their life lessons. From the wisdom that they share, the king will select the one bit of wisdom that will benefit all people everywhere - The Wisdom of the Ages.

While this edition has a new look with new illustrations the message is still the same - wisdom is something you should continually strive for. This is an excellent bedtime story for children in grade school and would make a wonderful gift for someone this Christmas.

The legacy was a well written book with interesting characters, and it emphasized the valuable things in life.

"The King's Legacy" is a wonderful allegory in which each chapter focuses on a new piece of wisdom as the king hunts for "The Wisdom of the Ages". It is well written, and while I have heard many of the pieces of wisdom in the course of all my reading, for many this would be a wonderful way to have it all in one book. There is an illustration at the beginning of each chapter which is nice, but the pictures didn't really enhance anything for me since I thought they were a little cheesy. But that is a minor detail. I did think it was a very nice looking gift type edition that would make a good gift. There is a page at the front where you can inscribe To and From and a section at the back where you can put your own wisdom in. Overall, this is a wonderful little book that would be great as a gift or to own for yourself.

The King's Legacy
A Story of Wisdom for the Ages
Jim Stovall
2003
Fiction/Christian
Reprinted by David C Cook 2009

Reviewed by Cindy Loven

Once upon a time..... What person, adult or child, if truthful, does not love a good fairy tale? The King's Legacy, a wonderful story book of a search, is presented in fairy tale form.

Jim Stovall, has brought us the lovely story of a benevolent and loved, wise king, who is on a search. A search to commemorate his service as king. He calls forth the wise men, asking their opinions. Many suggestions were put forth. The suggestion that caught his attention, however was the passing forth of the "Wisdom of the Ages."

After much deliberation and seeking, and thinking, the king, and the wise men realize, they know not the "Wisdom of the Ages." Thus begins the true heart of our story. One by one, people from all walk of life, come forth to share the wisdom, their experience's have brought them to realize. From the mighty judge, the rich banker, the lowly farmer, the funny jester, all who wish to do so, are invited to present their wisdom.

After days and days of hearing great truths, wisdom filled speeches. The King makes a declaration that at a certain time he will present the "Wisdom of the Ages." Only to realize he truly does not know what the wisdom of the ages is.

Follow through the book as each person presents their life's wisdom. See the wise and loving king, rebuke the pride of the nobility, and embrace the wisdom of the commoner. Learn exactly what is the "Wisdom of the Ages."

Jim Stovall has written a book that is a lovely story, complete with fairy tale art and a lovely presentation. This book is easy to read and a wonderful story. The very end of the story, has journal pages for you to enter your "wisdom" that you have gained through your life experiences. 146 pages [...]

I loved this book, it is well writen and I didn't want to put it down. This book is the classic Fable and has a wonderful message. The King is looking for The Wisdom of the Ages to leave as his legacy. Each day the King has a different subject tell what they think the wisdom of the Ages is, in seeking the answer we see everyone has different ideas. This is a great read that I think children to adults would enjoy. I honestly can't say what age this book is aimed at as I can see all ages loving it.

A little book that packs a powerful punch.

In a land far away, a good and well-loved king had led his people through times of uncertainty and turmoil into a golden age of prosperity and peace. As his reign was now ending, the king desired to leave some kind of legacy for his people and future generations. He considers a monument or some kind of coin. But, wishing for more, he turns to his trusted advisers and one suggests that the king discover the wisdom of the ages. He can then leave the greatest secret, the best wisdom to his people. The king, unable to determine on his own what that wisdom is, invites the citizens of his kingdom to share their wisdom and life lessons. The king is hopeful that once the people have spoken, he will know what the greatest wisdom is.

Once the king decides to hear from the people, each chapter is the wisdom of those people: the Healer, the Teacher, the Parent, the Soldier, the Farmer, and more. Each person shares a life lesson and the king is touched by each one. As time progresses and he hears from the people, he finds it difficult to settle on one particular piece of wisdom. Many principles, while familiar, were still quite profound: I found myself underlining passages and sharing them with my husband, who is now reading the book.

The greatest wisdom finally comes to the king from a delightful and unexpected source. The book is short and doesn't take long to read. It would be a fabulous book to read aloud with your family, as it could provoke some good discussions and teaching moments.

"The King's Legacy: A Story of Wisdom For The Ages" is a charming fairy tale-style parable by the author of "The Ultimate Gift", Jim Stovall. It chronicles the story of a king who desires to leave a remembrance of his reign behind when he is no longer on the throne. He hears the advice of several subjects, and decides to pursue what he feels is the best idea for a legacy: wisdom.

The drawings in the book took me back to my own childhood and a time when I loved to be read to while I looked at the pictures. Alright, I admit I haven't outgrown that. But this is a beautiful book about the search for wisdom (and what true wisdom really is) that will appeal to all ages. Maybe my family (our kids are both teens) will take this book as one of our summer "read to each other" books.

This edition of The King's Legacy is the second printing, a gift edition with a presentation page. This little book by the best-selling author of The Ultimate Gift is a fast read and attractively illustrated with black and white sketches.

The introduction was friendly, thanking me for investing time in reading this book. Stovall won my attention right away when I read, "My greatest desire is that your investment of time will be richly rewarded and pay wonderful dividends for the rest of your life."

Yeah, you and me both. In this economy we can all use a few wonderful dividends.

The story sounds like a fairy tale, of sorts, but a search for wisdom has timeless value, the kind that comes with dividends.

Stovall weaves a tale of an enchanted kingdom long ago and far away, where a king decides to leave a legacy. One of his wise men suggest that a legacy of the Wisdom of the Ages would be lasting and worthy of a king. The king agrees and so begins a search for the Wisdom that would be a tribute to the king and his rule.

All of the king's subjects are invited to share wisdom. In turn, the king and his wise men listen as each relate wisdom gleaned from a lifetime of work. Men from all walks of life come before the king to share: a merchant, soldier, poet, farmer, physician, jester, teacher, traveler, town crier, banker, hunter, historian, laborer, scientist, judge and elder. An outspoken woman dares to share lessons she's learned as a parent. Each subject has a unique perspective to offer, but the king finds it difficult to label any of their contributions as the Wisdom of the Ages, the Wisdom above all others.

Just as the king decides to end the search and declare the Wisdom of the Ages, the king finds the Wisdom he seeks from an unexpected subject.

This was something of a Commoners Got Wisdom contest that kept me turning pages and wondering how I would sum up wisdom to meet the challenge.

The kingdom setting and contest of sorts premise of the story make it fun and easy to keep turning pages. I enjoyed the search, listening and mulling over each subject's statements that contained a lot of wisdom but was it the wisdom the king sought as a legacy? Was it the best of the best? And, if the king's wise men didn't know, who would? How would the search end?

The King's Legacy is packed with wisdom, big and small, practical and timeless. It is informative but dressed in fancy costumes.

I would have liked to hear more women represented, but the kingdom setting kept most at home, talking to children and family members, not the king. Too bad.

All in all, this was a fun read as well as informative. The legacy when it was finely unveiled was satisfying and worth the journey.

The King's Legacy: A Story of Wisdom for the Ages holds timeless truths for any age.