Princess Penelope [Hardcover]

Todd Mack (Author), Julia Gran (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

From an original new team comes the perfect gift book for all the little princesses & princes in your kingdom--not your typical princess fare!

"Penelope was a princess. She was absolutely certain..." And why would Penelope think otherwise? After all, she dressed like a princess, traveled like a princess, & ruled her kingdom just like a princess. Does she sound like any little girls you know?

Spare rhythmic text w/ fun refrains makes this perfect for reading aloud. Magical art in swirling candy colors features playful pink bubbles that distinguish Penelope's royal world from the everyday. Here's a loving tribute to one child's rich & fanciful imagination.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. Penelope may be an ordinary girl, but she's convinced that she's a princess. After all, she has an adoring king and queen (her parents); thrones (a dining chair; a potty chair); a chariot (a stroller); and a crown. Overall, being a princess is delightful, despite the occasional disappointment or repercussion for being a bit too demanding. Both the text and the art are tongue-in-cheek, contrasting the tot's reality with her imaginative play (her banquet of sweets is really a burger, peas, and fries). The pictures are a sophisticated cartoonlike blend of swirling embellishments, heavy black outlines, and daubs of pastel colors, with Gran using a pale-pink background to suggest Penelope's fantasy world and white one (with a palette of gray) to denote Penelope's less glamorous reality. The art and subtle humor may draw more adults than kids, and the retro, curlicue cursive used for the text isn't easy to read, but princesses-in-the-making probably won't be able to resist the idea of creating a kingdom from the stuff of everyday life. Shelle Rosenfeld
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press; 1st edition (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439224365
• ISBN-13: 978-0439224369
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Precious!, May 5, 2003

By 

Christine Woods (Upstate New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Princess Penelope (Hardcover)

What an absolutely delightful book in every way! My 5-year old friend giggled as I read it to her, as did a group of my 50-year old friends. To read it aloud is such fun. The line, "I'm Penelope, and I am a PRINCESS!" alone presents endless theatrical possibilities. I believe it will find a place on the shelf among classics such as "Where the Wild Things Are" and "Harold and the Purple Crayon."

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's pretty in PINK!, March 19, 2003

By 

Laura A Smith (Lakeville, CT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Princess Penelope (Hardcover)

I LOVE this book! I am an elementary librarian and mother of two (one being a princess). The book is wonderful as a group read aloud (the illustrations of the various "thrones" is a crowd pleaser) and a lovely bed time story.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for that special gift for the princess (or prince) in your life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This princess needs to be put in her place, November 17, 2011

By 

karlitacat (Exeter, RI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Princess Penelope (Hardcover)

I happened upon this book at the library and grabbed it because it looked cute and my 4-year-old daughter is in a princess phase. I read it before putting it with her stack of books, and let me just say that I'm so glad I a) didn't waste my own money on this and b) didn't end up reading it to her.

I was disgusted with Penelope's attitude - she's an entitled, spoiled brat who misinterprets her parents simply taking care of her as basically being her servants, waiting on her hand and foot and obeying her demands. Naturally, she MUST be a princess. On every page she yells that she's a princess because of all the STUFF she has and all the THINGS people do for her; I could just picture my own daughter delighting in and emulating this attitude and it made me sick.

I thought - surely, towards the end of the book the author will get around to the fact that, yes, she is a special little girl, but it's just because Mommy and Daddy love her and it's time to get her head out of the clouds. Nope.