Customer Reviews

How Prudence Proovit Proved the Truth About Fairy Tales

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

 

 

Prudence Proovit doesn't believe in fairy tales; she prefers science and facts over fantasy. Her parents, scientists at heart, decide to send her to school despite the risk of Prudence learning ideas outside their own values of science over fiction. The debate that Prudence experiences, with her teacher and within herself, is lighthearted but has serious undertones. What does a child do when her teacher's values are different from those of her parents? What does she believe? A little trickery on the part of the teacher pushes Prudence to find an answer.

While the story has a good heart, the book borders on ineffective didacticism for adults instead of an entertaining story for all ages, promoting Einstein's theory that fairy tales in his childhood fed his imagination and genius. Still, young children will enjoy the fun illustrations and Prudence's desire for a sibling. There are enough fairy tale allusions to entertain the fairy tale savvy crowd, whatever age. It's cute, and even fun in some places, but Prudence Proovit isn't destined to be a classic.

We found a signed copy of this book in our local discount bookstore and it was like finding a gem! My daughter (who is now 4 yrs old) has hundreds of books, and this has been in the absolute top 5 of favorites since age 2 when she got it. I do different voices for the people who sent the postcards and I gave Miss Bliss and english accent.This is a great book for kids!!

While my child enjoys the story line and the pictures, I am not pleased with the content. I skip 2 sections when I read this to my toddler. In the first part I skip, the main character asks "Who is the original dumb blonde?" in reference to Goldilocks. That is unbelievably inappropriate! The second part I skip is when the main character uses the word "stupid." I had to check the age range for this book .... certainly not a good sign if Mom has to censor the book when reading aloud.

I was impressed by the illustrations, but little else. The illustrations are what make this book readable; it's not really a picture book that kids will enjoy. I got my copy from the library, and seeing as how it hadn't been checked out (ever in a year), it's obviously not popular. And, there are a lot of fairy tale references, particularly on the postcards, that most children won't even understand. Heck, even I didn't get that the initials were fairy tale characters until almost the end. I wouldn't recommend this book.

All three of my kids - ages 6 to 13 - loved this funny view of fairy tales. A book your kids will want to read over & over!

This story is perhaps the most original, adorable, down right hilarious picture book I've come across in months! Any child who questions whether there is a Santa, a Tooth Fairy, or an Easter Bunny should read this one. Full of humor, laugh-out-loud puns and vibrant cartoon art, children will delight in learning that sometimes fairy tales really do come true.