The Prince Who Was Just Himself by Silke Schnee, Heike Sistig (Illustrator), Erna Albertz (Translator)

This book is special.  The lead character is the youngest prince who is different from the others.  He has Down Syndrome.  But no one finds fault with that.  He's too happy and too loving for people to ignore.

Plough Publishing sent me a copy of this book to read for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can grab a copy now.

When an evil knight comes to attack their castle and conquer their King, the princes ride out to meet him.  He has an ugly scar on his face.  While his brothers are ready to fight to defend the kingdom, the little prince rides up close and touches his face asking if the scar hurts.  The knight is taken aback.  No one has ever been nice to him.  Then the prince hugs him and it's all over.  He might not have understood the danger he was in but he treated everyone the same.  How can you not love a child that loves you?

It was nice to see a book about a disease that doesn't get talked about much.  This is a positive look at living with a Down Syndrome child.