The Fairy's Mistake (Princess Tales) [Hardcover]

Gail Carson Levine (Author), Mark Elliott (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Princess Tales

Gail Carson Levine charmed the world with Ella Enchanted, her spirited retelling of the Cinderella story. Now this award-winning author turns her attention to two more classic fairy tales, and deftly turns them upside down and inside out with her trademark wit and hilarity.

In The Fairy's Mistake, two very different sisters have two very different encounters with the fairy Ethelinda. Rosella is kind and helpful. Her reward: Jewels and gems tumble out of her mouth whenever she speaks. Myrtle is rude and spiteful. Her punishment: Bugs and vipers slither out of her mouth. The fairy Ethelinda feels she's meted out justice just right--until she discovers Rosella has been locked up by a greedy prince and Myrtle is having the time of her life!

In The Princess Test, King Humphrey has decided it's time for his son, Prince Nicholas, to marry. But he must make sure the bride is a real princess. So he devises a series of princess tests, designed to weed out the phonies and the fakes. Meanwhile, Nicholas has fallen in love with Lorelei, a mere blacksmith's daughter. She's no princess, but he wants to marry her all the same--but how will she ever pass the terrible tests?

In these first two delightfully entertaining, laugh-out-loud Princess Tales, Gail Levine gently spoofs the notion that fairies are always right and that tests can ever prove a person's worth, but holds fast to the notion that true love will always win in the end.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6-Two novellas that are grounded in well-known tales and set in the magical kingdom of Biddle. The Fairy's Mistake is a play on "Toads and Diamonds," a story from Perrault about gifts given by a witch to two sisters, one kind and the other unkind. The Princess Test is based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Princess and the Pea." Illustrated with full-page pen-and-ink drawings, both retellings are delightfully lighthearted, with little doubt that good will ultimately triumph over evil. There is a rich use of language and spirited characters, especially the females. Although "The Princess Tales" lack the complexity of plot and fantastical invention found in Levine's Ella Enchanted (HarperCollins, 1997), they make a nice addition to the genre of novels based on and yet departing from traditional tales. Although their short length and sly humor would make the books appeal to reluctant readers, the difficult font makes it hard to recommend them to that audience.
Carol A. Edwards, Sonoma County Library, Santa Rosa, CA
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

PLB 0-06-028061-1 This hand-sized volume features delicate black-and-white line drawings that are very much in keeping with the tone of many fairy tales, but those familiar with Levine's Ella Enchanted will wisely expect, and be gratified by, the sly and unexpected foolery of this story and its companion, The Princess Test (0-06-028062-X; PLB 0-06-028063-8). In The Fairy's Mistake, Ethelinda is horrified to discover that her fairy blessing on the kind Rosella, that jewels fall from her mouth when she speaks, is being exploited by her greedy new husband, Prince Harold. Her curse on Rosella's sister, Myrtle, who drops slimy and creepy things from her mouth when she speaks, is also going awry; Myrtle uses this to get whatever she wants from people. The Princess Test takes on Lorelei's ability to feel a pea under 20 mattresses: this young thing is a great trial to her family as she is allergic to, or injures herself with, almost every household item she touches. Genuinely delightful and funny, both tales are set in the village of Snettering-on-Snoakes in the Kingdom of Biddle, a place readers will want to visit again. (Fiction. 7-12) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (March 21, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060280603
• ISBN-13: 978-0060280604
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #385,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice book, November 29, 1999

By 

a reader (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fairy's Mistake (Princess Tales) (Hardcover)

I agree with the first review for this book, "A GOOD SHORT READ". It is better than "The Princess Test" because Rosella doesn't get so lucky with her prince like Laurelei (the heroine of "Princess Test"). I don't think Rosella lets people walk all over her. She's just nice, and has a kind heart. And she DOES stand up for herself in the end. If you like funny, twisted fairy tales, when the bad guys REALLY get what they deserve, read this book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Short Read, June 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fairy's Mistake (Princess Tales) (Hardcover)

I found this book much better than the Princess Test. I liked the way the plot was twisted so that the good character gets a punishment and the bad character gets a reward, and then everything works out. I didn't like the way Rosella never stood up for herself, she just let herself be bossed around, she didn't seem to have much of a briain until the end and then all of a sudden she starts standing up for herself, I didn't get how that transformation had occured. I still enjoyed the book and look forward to more books by Levine. Read this book if you have about an hour on your hands with nothing to do.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Story, October 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Fairy's Mistake (Princess Tales) (Hardcover)

My third grader has read every book in this series, plus the few independent books this author has read. The stories are witty and poignant, and beg to be read over and over. Girls of any age would enjoy them.