Rama is the embodiment of righteousness, honor and valor – the perfect man and the ideal king of Kosala. Rama’s stepmother Kaikeyi longs to see her son Bharata crowned king, and persuades King Dasaratha that Rama, the rightful heir, should be sent into exile for fourteen years. Rama’s beautiful and devoted wife Sita, and Lakshmana his inseparable half-brother, both choose to accompany him. Rama, Sita and Lakshmana live happily in the forest until the demon king Ravana is told by his sister that Sita is the most beautiful princess in the world. He decides to kidnap her, and lures her away to his kingdom in the south. Rama and Lakshmana must rescue Sita, and call on the great monkey army, led by the warrior Hanuman, to help them find her. Rama uses his time in exile to learn the true meaning of devotion and loyalty, but will the lessons earn him the reward he deserves?

Real Reads are accessible texts designed to support the literacy development of primary and lower secondary age children while introducing them to the riches of our international literary heritage. Each book is a retelling of a work of great literature from one of the world’s greatest cultures, fitted into a 64-page book, making classic stories, dramas and histories available to intelligent young readers as a bridge to the full texts, to language students wanting access to other cultures, and to adult readers who are unlikely ever to read the original versions.