The Unruly Queen [Hardcover]

E.S. Redmond (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: February 28, 2012 | Age Range: 3 - 7 years

Fifty-two nannies in fifty-two weeks — and Minerva von Vyle is still impossible! Can anyone
tame this spoiled, wild child?

"But what sort of queen lives with beasts in a cave?"
"The sort," Nanny answered, "who never behaves."

Minerva rules her household with shrieks and commands, demanding candy for dinner and refusing to entertain any discussion of bedtime. Indeed, fifty-two nannies have run screaming from the house. But when the elegant and bespectacled fifty-third nanny, undaunted by Minerva’s tirades, appears on the scene to crown her young charge "the Unruly Queen," tutu-clad Minerva is thrilled — until she hears the details of the position. E. S. Redmond’s brisk, bouncy rhymes and vibrant, delightfully detailed artwork portray Minerva’s unyielding awfulness and Nanny’s unshakable calm with comedic flair, prompting even the most unmanageable youngsters to be careful what they wish for.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A nanny - Mary Poppins' acidic cousin? - outwits a spoiled fusspot using reverse psychology... For readers in the mood for a little menace.
—Kirkus Reviews

Redmond follows in the delightfully subversive footsteps of Shel Silverstein in this tale of Minerva von Vyle, a child so rude and spoiled that she has been through 52 nannies in as many weeks... Redmond’s clever rhyming verse trips off the tongue, and her scratchy, vintage-style illustrations bring to mind a slightly sunnier Edward Gorey.
—School Library Journal

About the Author

E. S. Redmond is the author-illustrator of Felicity Floo Visits the Zoo, her debut picture book. She lives in Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 7 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (February 28, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076363445X
• ISBN-13: 978-0763634452
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 0.4 x 11.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #462,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mary Poppins Meets Tim Burton February 28, 2012

By David

Format:Hardcover

The Unruly Queen takes reverse psychology to a new high. All the way to the top of Petulant Peak, in fact. My daughter loves this book, in part because she wants to misbehave like Minerva, but mostly because story holds her attention all the way to the end. Plus it has a few inside jokes just for the parents hidden throughout as well. It is a fun read with a good message that never fully lets go of it's dark-ish soul.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book on behavior and consequences January 12, 2013

By FIRR-Kids!

Format:Hardcover

There are several things to like about this book, but my personal favorite are the words the author chose. She really stretches with havoc, wreaked, tirade, petulant, treacherous, loathsome, banish, irked, horrendous, and cavernous, among other splendid choices. I love it when children's authors don't dumb down their writing for the kids. The only way to learn new words is to be exposed to them.

Minerva von Vyle is utterly spoiled and impossible to handle. The von Vyles are über wealthy, which means their only child gets whatever she desires, aside from their attention. Minerva creates havoc and makes messes on a daily basis, drawing on the walls, trotting her pink pony down the hallways and making life miserable for the servants. Not even the dog wants to spend any time in her company.

Minerva has blown through fifty-two nannies in exactly fifty-two weeks, wearing them out and driving them away. The fifth-third nanny arrives with a glint in her eye. She places a very fancy crown on Minerva's head, dubbing her "the Unruly Queen." At first the child is delighted to be royalty ... until she discovers what her new royal title entails. The queen will live at dreary Petulant Peak, ruling over the most loathsome creatures, behaving as rudely as she likes.

This nanny is ever so tricky, seemingly disappointed as her charge scoots up to bed without being asked, bathes and readies herself for bed without complaint. A clean, well-behaved little girl simply cannot wear the crown of The Unruly Queen. And that is how Minerva von Vyle stopped acting like a spoiled brat and started to appreciate her privileged life.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Queen rules June 8, 2012

By Madigan McGillicuddy

Format:Hardcover

In lenghthy rhyme, a beautiful but bratty princess, Minerva von Vyle is finally tamed with reverse psychology from a fearsome nanny and her crew of monsters. This title will draw inevitable comparisons to Mary Poppins. Pen and ink and watercolor illustrations with plenty of cross-hatching and curlique details reminded me a little of a slightly less feminine (read: less pink) version of Fancy Nancy. Gothic touches and a tongue-in-cheek humor keep this book from feeling too didactic.