I want to thank P&R Publishing for providing me with a copy of The King Without a Shadow in return for my honest opinion.
RC Sproul’s The King Without a Shadow (P&R Publishing, 1996/2012) is a beautiful storybook for 4-8 year olds. At 32 pages, the book has quite a bit of text, and is theologically dense, so I think you could push the age range upward a bit. My 11-year-old read the book to our family, and he and my 12-year-old both enjoyed it.
The King Without a Shadow is the story of a young boy who has an audience with the king of the land. The boy wants to know why he has a shadow. The king and his wise men cannot answer this question, nor can the king rid himself of his own shadow, so the king travels to meet with a wise old prophet in a cave. There, he learns of a Great King without a shadow. The king then meets with the boy and his siblings. He explains the Great King–who has no shadow–is God. God is holy, and unstained by sin. God is the source of all light. Humans, however, are stained by sin, and our “shadow” shows in the light. The story is one of the holiness of God.
RC Sproul is an excellent storyteller, and his books are always theologically sound. I have enjoyed every children’s storybook of his that I’ve encountered. Liz Bonham’s paintings are rich in color and beautiful. My boys were taken by the robe worn by the king. This is truly a book you’ll want to hold onto for the grandkids once your children outgrow it.
You can find The King without a Shadow at
- Amazon: The King Without a Shadow
- Christian Book: The King Without a Shadow
Find more picture books by RC Sproul at Amazon
- The Donkey Who Carried a King
- The Prince’s Poison Cup
- The Priest with Dirty Clothes
- The Prince’s Poison Cup
- The Lightlings
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We have this book and love it! Sadly for the children who go to our local library, I found it for $1 in there purging room. You can find a lot of great things in there but the books on the shelves, not so much.