The Great Sun King

A tender and mischievous story about the power of imagination, inner faith, and the journey towards independence.

 

Fascinated by her grandmother’s quiet faith, a little girl born into an atheist family invents her own divine figure: the Great Sun King. Protective and kind, he becomes her confidant, the one to whom she entrusts her joys, fears, and secrets.

Surrounded by her little Sun Kings, companions charged with granting her wishes, she navigates childhood between wonder and disillusionment. But growing up also means learning to part with one’s beliefs… In her family, they don’t talk about God. But the little girl, curious, watches her grandmother pray in silence and wonders who she is speaking to.

To understand, she invents the Great Sun King, a kind and watchful king who looks after her, listens to her, and sends little Sun Kings to help her overcome her fears and grant her wishes. But one day, the little Sun Kings stop coming… and the girl must learn to find her own light.

Between dream and reality, Mathilde Mélèse weaves a story of great sensitivity about the need to believe, to hope, and to grow. The delicate illustrations by Clémence Trossevin illuminate this inner world, where wonder meets everyday life and imagination becomes both a refuge and a source of strength.