A Brave Little Princess [Hardcover]

Beatrice Masini (Author), Octavia Monaco (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-Something must have been lost in translation in this tale from Italy. A princess who is mocked for her short stature decides to prove herself by going on an adventure. Her grandmother provides her with some "useful things," which conveniently help Little Princess Leonora save one village from a dragon, a second from a magician's spell, and a third from a flock of vultures. These situations are resolved so easily that no dramatic tension ensues. The text's repetitive insistence on conveying exactly how many deserts, mountains, and forests the child crosses is more irritating than connecting. The two-dimensional artwork confuses matters by making this youngster, whom villagers call "as small as a blade of grass," as tall as the other children shown in some of the paintings. Say arrivederci to this import.-Laura Santoro, Coventry Library, Cleveland Heights, OH

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5-8. A charming story only slightly hampered by a didactic edge. Little Princess Leonora is, indeed, little. When she's eight, she looks six, and she's tired of hearing the whole kingdom talk about how small she is. She complains to her grandmother and pleads for an adventure all her own, so the Queen Mother granny sends her off. In one village, she defeats a dragon with bold threats and her tiny arrow. In the next, she uses her tiny hands to undo the magic knots in the flour sacks that prevent the baker from making bread. In her third adventure, she bests a flock of vultures by scaring them with their own reflections in her hand mirror. Monaco's pictures are alive with shimmering colors and geometric shapes: the triangular faces of Leonora and the villagers, the oddly patterned dragon, and the baker's tiles. GraceAnne DeCandido
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Barefoot Books (August 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841482676
• ISBN-13: 978-1841482675
• Product Dimensions: 11.8 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,546,211 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A cute story, June 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: A Brave Little Princess (Hardcover)

I am always open to fairytales and this is a great one! A awesome storyline and beautifully written!