Princess, Princess [Hardcover]

Penny Dale (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

A little princess can only be woken with a kiss - but from whom?


There’s a princess in a castle, sleeping, sleeping. . . . Who will wake the princess with a kiss?

Once upon a time, a little princess loved nothing more than playing happily with her friends - until an uninvited birthday guest spoiled the fun by casting a spiteful spell. But not for long! With soft, dreamlike pastels, Penny Dale offers a sweet fairy tale that celebrates the resilience of friendship and the magic of play.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 1. Little girls passionate about princesses, fairies, and the color pink will gravitate to this achingly sweet retelling of Sleeping Beauty with children cast in the lead roles. In lulling text and illustrations of gossamer delicacy, the story unfolds familiarly until the point when a "frowning little fairy" unleashes her fury at not having been invited to the princess' birthday celebration. The repeated question, "Who will wake the princess with a kiss?" is met with a surprising answer at the story's end, when the snubbed fairy returns (in lieu of a handsome prince) to provide the necessary kiss and make amends. By focusing on the fairy's relationship with the princess, Dale dramatizes the abrupt shifts from estrangement to allegiance so common among children at play. At the same time, she simply but effectively brings the age-old themes of a cherished fairy tale even closer to a child's emotional world and offers a gentle message about the resilience of friendship. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Penny Dale is the author-illustrator of numerous acclaimed books for children, including TEN IN THE BED and BIG BROTHER, LITTLE BROTHER,. She is also the illustrator of THE JAMIE AND ANGUS STORIES by Anne Fine. Of PRINCESS, PRINCESS, Penny Dale says, "I very much enjoyed reworking the story of Sleeping Beauty with the children center stage, playing out the drama in their own way." Penny Dale lives in Wales.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (August 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763622125
• ISBN-13: 978-0763622121
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 0.4 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,430,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Bed-Time or Read-Aloud Story, October 16, 2003

By 

Jen Cooper (Ames, Iowa (ISU)) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Princess, Princess (Hardcover)

"Princess, Princess" is a re-telling of the fairy-tale, "Sleeping Beauty." The story begins with a flashback of the princess and her fairy friends in a deep sleep. The reader is asked, "Who will wake the princess with a kiss?" Then, the story unfolds. The princess has a birthday party and invites all the fairies, but one lone fairy. The hurt and angry fairy casts a spell on the group causing them to fall into a deep sleep. the castle, forest, and the surrondings that were once alive with life, move into a sweet slumber. Seeing the princess and her friends asleep, we are taken back to the traditional tale of "Sleeping Beauty," with an added-twist of fairies replacing humans and reconciliation on the spell. This story would be an excellent bed-time story or read-aloud.
Penny Dale multi-tasks as the author and the illustrator in this story. The illustrations are soft-pastels that grow more ellaborate throughout the story and compliment the text. The text has repetition of action verbs that will help the child become familar with written print and vocabulary, through recognizing sight words. This story is suitable for children in primary grades. Overall, Penny Dale has done an excellent job in portraying the classic version of "Sleeping Beauty" in this new and exciting re-telling.

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book for toddler girls, May 19, 2006

By 

C. Sommer (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Princess, Princess (Hardcover)

My two-year-old daughter loves this book! We read it night after night. The illustrations are magical and the text is simple and straightforward. My daughter is fascinated with princesses and all things frothy and glittery, and this book more than meets her standards.

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Images For Fairy Lovers, May 28, 2005

By 

E. G. Jackson (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Princess, Princess (Hardcover)

My three daughters and I love this book. The gorgeous pictures bring the characters to life. You can tell that the fairies have very strong feelings, and the grownup-free world is full of magical details. The story is sweet, but it is the illustrations that make this book remarkable. I have added this book to the wish list for my daughter's preschool.