Princess Peepers [Hardcover]

Pam Calvert (Author), Tuesday Mourning (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2008 | Age Range: 6 - 8 years | Lexile Measure: 530L (What's this?)

Princess Peepers loves wearing her glasses—until the other princesses at school make fun of her. What can Princess Peepers do? Take off her glasses! But that leads the princess into all kinds of trouble.

Can she prove she doesn’t need her glasses and get to the ball in time to dance with the prince? Find out in this hilarious story, as Princess Peepers changes the rules of cool around the castle!

Tuesday Mourning’s vibrant illustrations using mixed media add to the fun in this quirky read-aloud about fitting in.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3—Princess Peepers has always been secure in who she is, and is especially fond of her collection of fabulous eyeglasses. That is until she enters the Royal Academy for Perfect Princesses. The other royals make fun of her specs, causing her to pack them all away so she can be like everyone else. This leads to all sorts of mistakes: she misidentifies spaghetti as mud and string, the kitchen as the dungeon, animals as people, and a visiting prince as a horse. Luckily, a happy ending is in store for the hapless young woman as she and Prince Peerless, who is not wearing his glasses either, soon see that they are made for each other. Mourning's graphite and digital/collage illustrations combine figures in traditional costumes from different eras with lush backgrounds. The palette of pinks keeps the emphasis on sweet, even when some of the characters are not. Princess Peepers will circulate well and bring laughs during storytimes.—Susan E. Murray, Glendale Public Library, AZ
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Review

A sure hit with fans of Fancy Nancy and Pinkalicious. --Children's Literature

"...the story feels fresh throughout--no easy feat for a princess book." --Horn Book Guide

Calvert's tale of a bespectacled princess's rocky road to self-acceptance is rollicking good fun. Princess Peepers adores her plethora of eyewear, with what seems to be a pair of glasses for every occasion. However, when she attends the Royal Academy she is astonished to discover her spectacles are far from au courant. In a misguided attempt to satisfy others' expectations and fit in, she doffs her lenses. While the ensuing mishaps are appropriately silly and lighthearted, they do not conceal the compelling message that being true to one's self paves the road to happiness. Mourning's mixed-media illustrations of graphite and digital/collage present an intriguing blend of texture and color. Readers are bound to relish the interplay between what the text describes and the reality of the illustrations as Princess Peepers stumbles about sans specs. The ironic denouement is bound to please princess fans and their practical parents alike. --Kirkus Reviews, August 2008

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 6 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Two Lions (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761454373
• ISBN-13: 978-0761454373
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 0.5 x 9.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #945,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pam Calvert is an award winning children's author of many nationally acclaimed picture books. She is best known for her Princess Peepers series--the only princess who wears glasses. Her other titles include her funny math adventures--Multiplying Menace and The Multiplying Menace Divides.

Because she used to be a science teacher as well as a writing instructor/UIL coach, she speaks to thousands of children every year, encouraging them to achieve their dream and to love math through the use of literature. When she is not speaking or writing, you can find her having fun with her family in Texas.

To learn more about her or to book a school visit, go to her website at www.pamcalvert.com.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing February 13, 2011

By T. Maschke

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was looking for a book similiar to "Who Wears Glasses?" the ONLY non-negative book I can find regarding glasses to read to my beautiful 4 year old (who has been wearing glasses since she's 13 months). She has never had a problem keeping her glasses on. She knows she needs them to see. She takes her glasses off only to sleep. So when I read this book, and Princess Peepers goes virtually 90 percent of the book without her glasses, it wasn't amusing because it was written in such a negative manner (other princesses made fun of her for wearing glasses). I'm going to spoil the ending here: The only reason it's OK for Princess Peepers to wear glasses is because at the end she falls into a Prince -- who also has glasses. Every person who recommended the book to me has kids, but the kids don't wear glasses. When it is YOUR kid who is wearing the glasses, this negative story is not so sweet and charming. I read this to my daughter without having read it myself. At the end she said, "I didn't like this book." No wonder. It put images of girls laughing at a person with glasses into her head, and the "shame" associated with wearing glasses. I think this book did more harm than good in my case. Very, very disappointing. If you have a child who wears glasses, buy "Who Wears Glasses?" That is a book that doesn't one have a negative thing to say about wearing glasses. It is so much more uplifting to read when your child has glasses -- both for the child and the parent.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book September 13, 2009

By Karen S. York

Format:Hardcover

My daughter is 4 years old and wears glasses and this is one of her favorite books. Even kids that don't wear glasses would enjoy it.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What a cute book! May 13, 2009

By V. Dixon

Format:Hardcover

My daughter (4 years old) and I checked this book out from our local library. The first night we brought it home, she asked me to read it to her 3 times in a row. We have since then, read the book several times. It is so much fun to read! It is an age appropriate light-hearted story with the moral of treating people nicely no matter how differently they look from you. It gave me the opportunity to reinforce how mean words hurt people's feelings and the importance of acceptance. The "bully" in the book is a pretty princess named Grumbelina. What a great chance to explain that even though Grumbelina was pretty on the outside she sure wasn't very pretty on the inside, which is so much more important. The illustrations are very cute and many of the phrases (ex."Jeepers" cried Peepers) are "catchy". At the end, when Princess Peepers finally accepts who she is (a princess that must wear glasses to function effectively) she is rewarded!