Customer Reviews

A Princess, A Pirate, And One Wild Brother: A Storybook Collection by New York Times Bestselling Author Cornelia Funke

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book has three really great stories in it and is a favorite for a bedtime story with both my 6 year old boy and 4 year old girl. I like reading the stories as well, I think they are well told and are good stories to seep into the minds of youngsters.
The writing style is spare and evocative, almost every line is striking. I don't know who translated these into English for Cornelia Funke, or if she did it herself (her first language is German), but I think these are miles better than her young adult fiction which can be clunky sometimes.
Anyway, timeless stories about love and bravery, good for any girl or boy.

I am a fan of Cornelia Funke's work, I've loved her Inkheart books for years. This book is three stories in one and perfect for young children.
The first story tells the tale of a princess whose father raised her and her three older brothers to be warriors. Then, how she got out of an unwanted marriage using her skills. I think this would have made a lovely YA book as well, it's got a lot of the elements in place.
The second story is about pirates, I found this one to be quite amusing. The last is about a young boy with a big imagination. Again, I could see how this could be a longer novel and quite similar to Alice in Wonderland.
Imaginative and fun, I think any child would appreciate these stories.

This was a happy library find that, after several renewals, we sought out as a gift for my 3-year old grandson. I am looking forward to reading this to his baby sister, someday. With "one wild brother" of her own, she will surely appreciate, as I do, the tough and resourceful little girls in these charming stories.

three stories with unusual spunky heroines. in a world full of stories of stereotypical save-me-please victimized female princesses, these stories are a refeshing take on the princess, the pirate and even just the sister.

Funke's stories are great for young kids and parents alike. My daughter loves all three stories in this book, and I cannot recommend it enough. Buy it-you won't be disappointed!

I ordered this book hoping that it would be an easy chapter book for my third grade class. It's not; it's a collection of three picture books bound together in one volume. They're cute, but too young for third graders. Some picture books have such wonderful writing and/or themes that they're great for all ages; this isn't one of them. No fault of its own; but be aware that it's really for younger kids, though they wouldn't be able to read it on their own.

For a collection with such rave reviews I was really crest fallen. The way Funke manipulates words is prized in adult novels but is simply over wordy and over worked in a children's book. I kept wanting to delete unnecessary words. The dialogue is unnatural and awkward. She's so stuck on creating a message that she seems to forget she's writing a story. Pirate Girl and Wildest Brother were readable (though they possess the troubles mentioned previously) but the Princess Knight was just awful. I thought maybe I could cut pages out, but it was un-salvageable. Instead of merely writing a good tale she tried to address everything she doesn't like about other tales specifically (bossy princes, animals taken for granted, the princesses as a prize) and yet she kills off the princesses mother and all of the men in her family are jerks. She tried to take a step forward for girls in childrens lit and fell over. So disappointing.

My 5 & 6 y.o. boys love ALL these stories. Fantastic stories of active (rather than passive) female heroes! And very humorous, both in tale & illustration. Keep several copies on hand for bday gifts for either sex.

Exactly what I wanted and cheaper than at the book store. Great due to no shipping with the super savers shipping and still get in no time...