Book Review:

The Prince's Poison Cup

The book begins with a little girl named Ella. Ella is sick and her Father wants her to drink some medicine, which does not taste good. Ella asks her Father, "why medicine always taste bad?" Ella's Father tells her that this would be a good question to ask your grandfather when he arrives. Grandpa arrives at their house and Ella asks the question. Grandpa sits her down on his knees and tells her a story, which explains why medicine tastes so bad.

Once upon a time there was a king named "The King of Life." This king created a park and everything within it. This park was very extravagant and had a beautiful fountain at its center. Every day the King would visit this beautiful park and spend time with all the people, plants, animals that inhabited it. He told all the people that they could drink from anything in the park except from this fountain. At first everyone ignored this fountain, but over time the people began to get curious. One day a stranger with a long dark coat entered the park. This stranger was the arch enemy of the king. The stranger told the people that the water wasn't bad at all. He told them that the water would make them as great as the king himself. The stranger filled up a cup of water and gave it to the people. The people then drank from it. When the people drank from it, their hearts became stone. The people no longer loved the king. The people stopped coming to the park and created a city and named it "The City of Man." The king knew all this would happen and he already had a plan for the people. The king went to his son, the prince, and told him that he wanted him to help the subjects. The king told him to go to the City of Man and there he would find a fountain. This fountain was ugly and filled with poison. He told the prince that he would have to drink from this fountain. When the prince arrived at the city, he noticed that the city was not pretty and the people were not loving. Upon arrival he was treated very badly, because the people noticed him for who he was, the king's son. The prince begin wish he didn't have to drink from this cup. Greater than his fear of drinking from this cup was his desire to please the king. Next to the fountain in this city was standing the king's archenemy. He handed the cup to him and the enemy filled the cup with the poison. The prince drank from the cup and it was bitter. He drank the entire cup, even while it was burning. As a result of this he died and the man in the black coat laughed. All of a sudden the king of life walks in and his light fills the city. The archenemy tells everyone to run. Everyone runs in fear.The king touch the prince and brought him back to life. At the moment the water became clear and beautiful. The prince then filled up a cup and offered it to the people. The prince said to them, "If anyone thirst let him come to Me and drink." All those who came to him hearts changed. The people's lives were changed. All the people return to the park and joyfully rejoiced in what the king had done. Grandpa then told Ella that people get sick as a result of sin. This is why the medicine which makes our bodies well tastes so bad. The prince's had to drink something far more terrible, so that his people might be healed. Every time you have to drink terrible tasting medicine, remember what the prince had to do for his people. Ella concludes this story, by telling Grandpa of how she knows a similar story saying, "And do you know what? I know another Prince who died for His people."

Once again, I absolutely love R.C. Sproul's childrens' stories. All of Sproul's stories are saturated in scripture and point the children to Christ. I would highly recommend this to all parents. I think this story is a great tool for those parents who desire to develop memorable theological themes within the lives of their children. The book additionally is full of great pictures. I love this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Publisher: Reformation Trust

Publication Date: 2008

Pages: 46

Binding Type: Hardback

Book Grade: A+

~Reformed Reader~

The Princes Poison Cup written by R.C. Sproul and published by Reformation Trust Publishing, and is one of the childrens titles currently offered under this publisher. Dr. Sproul is world renowned for works on Reformed Theology and Apologetics aimed at adults but The Princes Poison Cup is uniquely aimed at conveying the truths of scripture to very young children.

The Princes Poison Cup has two major strengths: the story and the illustration. With regard to the story, The Princes Poison Cup, takes a Princess Bride approach to storytelling, a story within a story if you will. While this approach can get confusing or exhausting in other works, that cannot be said of The Princes Poison Cup, which is fast paced, sharp, and witty. With regard to communicating the truths of Gods Word, Dr. Sproul goes to great lengths to communicate to young children the Gospel starting with original sin, the need of a savior, and the provision of the savior in Jesus within a unique allegorical tale.

With regard to the illustration, The Princes Poison Cup has vivid colors and is masterfully drawn so that it not only captures a childs attention but their imagination as well. Furthermore the illustrations not only illustrate the allegorical tale but progress the story in a way words cannot do.

If you are looking to purchase The Princes Poison Cup, it is a delightfully articulated and beautifully illustrated book; the audience is for ages 3 to 7, yet when I read it to my daughter (age under 2) she was captivated the entire time.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Reformation Trust Publishing in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

The Prince's Poison Cup is an allegorical book that begins with a little girl, Ella, who has a stomach ache and is given medicine by her father. Unlike the sugary syrups in today's world, this one did not impress the child and she asked the question, "Why does medicine taste so bad if it's going to make us well?" Her father passes the baton to her grandfather who then tells the child a story about the King of Life who can create anything; He has created a beautiful park for His people and enjoys walking in it with them. He also created a lovely fountain, but gave them strict instructions not to drink it's clear flowing water. Of course they are tempted by his archenemy, and their hearts are turned into stone as a result. They leave the park, set up their own dark city and remain in that state until the Prince enters their city to rescue them. Sent by the King, the Prince must fill a golden cup with murky, smelly poison that bubbles up from their city's fountain. When he drinks it, he dies, amongst a triumphant cold-hearted crowd. The King enters the plaza however, brings Him back to life, and the fountain is transformed. The Prince offers this new water as life to all who would come.

After reading the book once to make sure it was theologically sound, I read it to my four-year old. He loved it and has requested it multiple times the past few days. What did he enjoy about it? First, he liked the fact that there was a king and prince involved. Next, he loved that the story was similar to the redemption story of the Bible. After every page, he would point out that "the King of Life was like God, because He created the whole world too!" or "the archenemy was like Satan who pretended to be that naughty snake and lied". It could be just the boy in him, but he didn't really seem to get into the background story at all, usually zoning out at the end, and I think this book would have been just fine without Ella and her Grandpa. The only thing he said was missing was that the Prince needed a white horse just like Jesus, though I had to remind him that Christ won't come riding on His white horse until the end. :)

I also thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The illustrations (by Justin Gerard) are lovely and capturing, from the rounded cherubic faces of those filled with love for their Creator, to the hardened, chiseled features of those whose hearts have turned to stone. The author, RC Sproul, is also the founder of Ligonier Ministries. On their website, he states that he started his ministry to "faithfully present the unvarnished truth of Scripture to help people grow in their knowledge of God and His holiness." I believe he accomplished this masterfully in this children's book, as even my four-year old was able to see the allegorical comparison. You can tell Sproul focused on every detail, hinting back to Scripture when he could (There are some great discussion questions and Biblical references at the end of the book). I loved the progression of sin that you could see with the people and the fountain (James 1:14-15, I John 2:15-16), and how he subtly establishes the respect for wisdom from the elderly. Personally, my only fault was at the end, where the Grandpa notes that the origin of sickness was brought about by sin- I felt that his contrasting explanation of this medicine to the cup of poison was forced. In the end however, I highly recommend this book, as yet another creative way (I'm always looking for them!) to teach such the story of God's love, sacrifice and redemption for us.

Disclaimer: I am blessed to be receiving a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my unbiased review.

This story begins with a little girl who is sick and must take some medicine. This causes her to wonder why something that is supposed to make you better tastes awful. Her grandfather answers her question by telling her a story about a prince who had to drink a terrible poison. As the story unfolds children can see that like Jesus this prince is obedient to his father even to death and they can see the wonderful gift of salvation that is offered.

I would highly recommend this book. It is very difficult to find children's books like this one that accurately portray the truths of Scripture. The story is interesting and the illustrations which are by Justin Gerard are captivating. In addition, at the end of the book are great questions with Bible verses that will help parents teach their children the Scriptural truths that are presented in this story.

(Reformation Trust Publishing provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for a fair critique.)

The Prince's Poison Cup is an allegorical retelling of the Gospel in a non-threatening and child-friendly way. The illustrations are plentiful and beautiful. (I especially like how the book is tan colored, so when the King of Life is drawn he is brilliantly bright.) There are enough Biblical concepts and truth in this seemingly simple tale to keep a parent busy for many readings. I think that is the true brilliance of Dr. Sproul and this book! He is able to take a very complicated story and retell it in a way a child can understand without sacrificing truth.

The King of Life creates a park for his people to enjoy and gives them freedom to drink from the streams but not the fountain, as the fountain would harm them. The people drink and as a result their hearts turn to stone. The King asks his son the prince to take his golden cup and drink murky poison to heal the hearts of his people.

There are some especially deep, yet simple, concepts in the book that I really liked, like explaining the consequences of sin. "But a terrible thing happened when the people drank the water–[of which they were forbidden to drink] their hearts turned to stone. After that, they no longer felt any love for their King. They didn't even want to be with Him anymore. (p. 14) Dr. Sproul doesn't go into the Holiness of the king requiring punishment for sin, but he does cover depravity with the idea that the people's hearts were turned into stone.

Another deep concept is the foreknowledge of God that people would sin: "The King was very wise and had known that the people would drink from the fountain, and He already had a plan to help them. (p. 16)" The book even helps to explain the righteousness of God by saying that "The poison was made up of the King's anger over the people's disobedience. (p. 16)" The Prince (or Jesus) has to drink the poison for us in order to heal our stony hearts.

The end of the book also has ideas and Bible verses to help answer questions that will come up. For example, in answering what happens after you trust in Jesus? The book gives you Ezekiel 36:26: "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." (Referenced on p. 40)

This book is a wonderful addition to any collection and is far from a fluffy children's Bible story. I certainly recommend it to anyone with children.

(I received this book for free from Reformation Trust Publishing in exchange for my honest review)