Customer Reviews

The Secret of the Lost Kingdom

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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When I saw the first advertisement for this new children's book, I will admit that I cringed. Not being a huge Michael Bolton music fan, my initial impression was to assume that someone had given this man some crazy idea for a new market and he had jumped right in with limited knowledge or talent. I was incredibly mistaken and apologize forthrightly to him for such an ill assumption!!! I read the book at a book store one day this week and was very, very impressed! Working as a Children's Librarian, I have the opportunity to see a great deal of children's literature and I loved what I saw in this book. A charming story. Chivalry. Morality. Social responsibility to one's place of origin and background. Love and respect for people and situations. Romance intertwined. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! A book worth reading -- for all ages!

Michael Bolton has written a beautiful story of truth, honor, and love. It is a book that all ages can enjoy. The book is beautifully illustrated. Michael has proved that there is much more to his talent then being a terrific singer/song writer.

This is a very good book for children in the 10-12 year old age range. Michael and Jennifer are two children that are part of a school group visiting a large castle and they get separated from the others. While they are viewing two paintings of a man and a woman, a man comes up to them and offers to tell the story of the people in the paintings.
Prince Marlon is the heir to the throne of Mentoria, but his heart is uneasy. While leading a band of the king's soldiers against some peasants he fights a strong warrior until they agree to stop fighting. At that point, another of the king's soldiers deals the other warrior a deathblow.
After returning from the battle, Marlon leaves the castle dressed as a common man and wanders out to meet the people. He comes to the aid of a man named Gug and he goes home with him. Gug's daughter Nicole is beautiful and Marlon quickly becomes infatuated with her.
After Marlon spends some time working on Gug's farm, a herald of the king arrives searching for Marlon. The king is on his deathbed and the kingdom has fallen under the evil sway of the high priest Mordal. Marlon returns and leads an army against a rival kingdom. He emerges victorious, banishes Mordal and assumes the throne. He rules very wisely and the kingdom thrives.
This book is also beautifully illustrated; the characters are drawn with exquisite detail. The coloration somehow manages to be subtle yet sharp, the quality is as good as I have seen. The story itself is a fairly standard one of the crown prince trying to achieve an understanding of how the people in the kingdom actually live. It is a good story with a happy ending, as Marlon and Nicole become the king and queen of Mentoria and ascend to the throne to the genuine cheers of the populace.

I love Michael Bolton as a singer. And his writing skills are excellent as well. But I found this book difficult to follow for me, and even more so for my 6th grade students. However, the pictures were outstanding! David Jermann is very detailed in his illustrations....a definate plus for this book.

Wonderful bardic mastery here; as if the myth of King Arthur came alive again, yet its ending still expands into a living energy of our continuance - for here there is no wounded fisher king, but rather a continuance of love - father to son, brother to brother, man to man - without a doubt. As a female, I am reminded strongly of the "Mists of Avalon" by Marion Zimmer Bradley, yet this tale is told from a male vantage point, who as of yet is only just beginning to discover that his lady love is real - as real as he. Complex yet so simply told, amazing mysteries of love unfolding from a point of ever-changing mysteries of all that we might yet now come to be.

The parallels of many Arthurian legends, and even a hint of "Avalon come true" are spoken here, within a form and style that must inspire the wee folk of our lives to live within its inspiration. I applaud this endeavor of artistry, and hope to see this lovely volume back in full publication again very soon.

Michaelette

http://michaelette.com

Mr. Bolton has written a book to be treasured for years to come, it will be passed down for generations to come and I'm sure they will find it just as meaningfull in the future as it is today. He proves to be very skillfull at weaving some important lessons into an intrigueing story. The beautifull illustrations are a delight to explore. I look forward to reading more by this team.

I think People who lioke the hero slash romantic adventure type of thing should read this book. I think its a pretty good book for children 7-12 to read in their spair time. The book itself has some very interesting aspects that may or may not catch your catch your eye every once and a while so have fun reading this book and leave a good review.

There is nothing wrong with this book that should keep you from reading it. It has very detailed illustrations that look real. It also has a good story. It also teaches that tour guides don't always tell you everything. It tells the story of a prince who doesn't belive that rich people should be able to take poor people's land just to make themselves richer. It is a great book as long as you don't hate stories that take place in Midievil times.

I really love Michael as a singer. I'm a fan of him since I started feeling sense of music. But I wasn't aware of his writing skills indeed. He has proved his writing skills after giving a great gift of the Secret of Lost Kingdom. The book is not infact just for childern there is something for every age, the morality, honor, truth and love. The heart touching and well illustrated story is really worth to be explored.