Kingdom Tales is sometimes labelled a fairy story, but it’s far from that.
It’s an allegory to the events that took place in Africa after most of the
African nations were free to rule themselves. It was a time plagued with wars
and coups, and the author of Kingdom Tales did an amazing job retelling those
stories using animals.
It was written in an elegantly simple
style, and the author, Charles, used the animal kingdoms as a metaphor for the
African nations. The story started when King Hasha (Eagles’ king), the ruler of
Mountain Kingdom defeated the Cave Kingdom (the Bats) in their quest
for a legendary Dark Staff. In real
life, this Dark Staff can be a total
freedom or independence; because in African folklores, staffs always signify
independence or having authority.
Then in the Mountain Kingdom (Eagles’ home), Charles made us to understand that
even though the kingdom is strong, it still received support from the ‘creepy’ Falcons who aren’t part of the
kingdom. This can be analyzed as the support most African nations got from
their colonial masters, which they didn’t believe were genuine supports, rather
as a way their masters hoped to exploit them more.
Also while the Mountain Kingdom, Cave
Kingdom, and the Forest Kingdom
were all searching for the Dark Staff
(total freedom), they were also plagued with internal issues. King Hasha lost
his throne to one of his soldiers, and was exiled to another kingdom for some
time. Something of that nature also happened to the Bats’ king. This could be
the time African nations were plagued with coups, civil wars and genocides.
Even though this novel is politically
minded, it’s still very entertaining for kids to enjoy. The author has a good
sense of humour and great writing style. When I first read it, I really enjoyed
it as a fairy story about animals fighting for supremacy, not knowing it
represented something deeper. That’s why I say it’s safe for kids to read too.
Charles was able to add African folklore
and medieval feel to it too, so anybody from anywhere can totally enjoy the
book. And it’s a quick read too. Very classic.Visit www.charlesumerie.com.ng
