When young John Kneale Brooks pronounced Mesopotamia as Messy Potatoes, his grandfather, an Episcopal priest, sat down with him and began making up a story about King Spud, who ruled a magical kingdom called the Land of Messy Potatoes. Over the next three years Spud's trials and adventures multiplied as he faced unexpected challenges and dangers with only a crippled talking raven, a lost Viking, the world's smallest giant, a young Spaniard, a bewildred Scot, a Chinese village, a faithful cow, a reformed wolf and a rather nasty cat to keep him company.
    Spud learns that the duties of a king are many, and that doing the right thing is not always as easy as looks. As he first hears and then helps his grandfather to write the stories of King Spud, John Kneale Brooks also learns important lessons about the power of courage and love.