The Apple-Pip Princess [Hardcover]

Jane Ray (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: March 25, 2008 | Age Range: 3 - 7 years | Lexile Measure: 950L (What's this?)

With sumptuous artwork, Jane Ray tells an original fairy tale of a humble princess whose love for nature’s beauty restores a kingdom.

Once there was a kingdom full of laughter, happiness, trees, and birdsong. But when the queen dies, the land becomes quiet and barren, and everyone is filled with sadness. What will make the kingdom bloom again? Can Serenity, the youngest of three princesses, bring hope and life back to her kingdom with a single apple pip — a precious seed left to her by her mother? This original fairy tale is brought to life and exquisitely illustrated by the internationally renowned Jane Ray.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Ray celebrates the transforming power of growing things in this beautiful, original fairy tale. A once-green kingdom turns into a barren dust bowl after a queen’s death. The king, concerned about his land’s future, challenges his three daughters to “do something to make your mark.” The creator of the best project will rule the kingdom. Two princesses build towering structures, but the youngest, Serenity, plucks a tiny apple seed from a box of nature’s treasures that belonged to her mother. That seed’s sprout inspires more planting, and soon the kingdom becomes a lush paradise, and Serenity is named the new ruler. Ray’s rich language and sure pacing create a winning read-aloud, but it’s the shining collage artwork that really stands out. Mixing color photos into her typically fine, elaborately decorated illustrations, Ray creates dramatic scenes of a kingdom’s renewal while highlighting the close ties among the brown-skinned princesses and the kingdom’s diverse people. Link this celebratory story Claire Nivola’s Planting the Trees of Kenya (2008). Preschool-Grade 2. --Gillian Engberg

About the Author

Jane Ray has illustrated numerous award-winning children’s books, including LUGALBANDA: THE BOY WHO GOT CAUGHT UP IN A WAR by Kathy Henderson and SHAKESPEARE'S ROMEO AND JULIET by Michael Rosen. She lives in London.

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 7 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763637475
• ISBN-13: 978-0763637477
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 0.5 x 11.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #214,511 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Love it! June 15, 2009

By Ulyyf

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

First things first: How many times, seriously, do you read a fairy-tale with a black protagonist? Particularly a real, honest-to-goodness princess? Not a merchant's daughter or a scholar's daughter or a randomly wealthy girl. Not a retelling of Goldilocks or Red Riding Hood.

The answer is probably never, unless you make a special effort. And even then... close to never.

This is not a traditional fairy tale, nor a retelling of one. But it reads like it is. Three princesses are competing to see which one will inherit the kingdom. Two of them go waaaaaay overboard and requisition all the metal and wood in the kingdom (even roofs and fences and bells) to build towers to aggrandize themselves. ("They'll be so happy to be ruled by me, they won't mind being poor and hungry!" Yeah, right. Plus, they're throwing people willy-nilly into the dungeon.)

The third, aptly named Serenity, fears she can't do anything, but she uses her mother's gift to try, and - with the gift and with help from the rest of her country - replants, apparently, the entire countryside. In a week. Well, there's some magic involved, and it flows together nicely.

The language is rich and deep, and very evocative. It is a bit of a long story, and some of the metaphors involved may go right over a smaller child's head - keep the 4 - 8 age range in mind.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A fabulously fruitful fairytale November 22, 2008

By Julee Rudolf VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This uplifting fairy tale is about an elderly king who tasks his three lovely daughters with doing something to "make [their] mark," the result of which will determine his successor as ruler of the kingdom. The first chooses shoes, the second, a mirror, and the third, "a simple wooden box" which is, in fact, filled with "seven magical things that the queen had collected when she was a little girl." The beautiful elder sisters build towers high into the sky to impress the people. But the youngest, "a little shy and quite ordinary" chooses to uses the magical things to plant seeds. Voila, days later she has created food for her future subjects and become the obvious choice.

With its splendid drawings and slightly different spin on the usual fairy tale (the apple pip theme and the fact that the princesses are women of color), The Apple Pip Princess is a refreshingly remarkable story. Also good: Barefoot Fairytales by by Malachy Doyle, Princess Tales edited by Nora Kramer, and A Book of Princesses by Sally Gardner.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Yeah for featuring an African-American family! November 19, 2009

By Mary Ostyn

Format:Paperback

With four Ethiopian daughters, you can bet I appreciated the lovely drawings depicting these African American princesses right down to their beautiful ringlets and puff ponytails. But this story goes way beyond its beautiful pictures. The words flow. The storyline sparkles. This book is a winner all the way around. We borrowed it from the library, but I may just need to purchase it for my children.