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The Light Princess (Sunburst Book) Paperback – August 1, 1984

by George Macdonald (Author),
Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
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Maurice Sendak (Illustrator)
4.5 out of 5 stars 24 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Age Range: 8 - 12 years
  • Grade Level: 3 - 7
  • Series: Sunburst Book
  • Paperback: 120 pages
  • Publisher: Square Fish; Reissue edition (August 1, 1984)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0374444587
  • ISBN-13: 978-0374444587
  • Product Dimensions: 4.9 x 0.4 x 7.4 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #311,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsMy most beloved MacDonald book!
By Jill Minor on December 17, 2002
Format: Paperback
When I received this as a gift, I had already read and thoroughly delighted in "At the Back of the North Wind," "The Princess and the Goblin," "The Princess and Curdie," and "The Golden Key." When you read MacDonald, if your heart is right, you feel sheltered--the world he creates for you is as trustworthy and pure as C. S. Lewis's Narnia or Rivendell of Tolkien's Middle Earth. At the same time, you feel challenged to transform your own world and make it more like MacDonald's.
I was expecting another dose of the same awe-inspiring goodness without false piety or preachiness that is MacDonald's literary legacy. In "The Light Princess," however, there was an unexpected ingredient--a sharp wit that pervades the whole book and made me laugh out loud more than once. In a modern world where wit and vulgarity are viewed as conjoined twins, how satisfying a book this is! MacDonald infused delicious humor into his characters without losing the innocence. I fell in love with this book by page three, and it has surpassed "The Princess and the Goblin" as my favorite work of George MacDonald.
The fact that my favorite illustrator of all time, Maurice Sendak, added his talents to this book is icing on the cake. Sendak always grabs the heart and soul of the written work and renders it into drawings too evocative to be believed. The drawing of the prince with only his head above the water took my breath away, and in one fabulous illustration, the hilarious expression on the face of the gravity-deprived infant princess as she floats away reflects the hilarity of the story itself.
If some of MacDonald's other stories have turned you off because they are too long, too "deep" or whatever, don't miss this treasure as a result.Read more ›
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5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars are to few
By A Customer on March 5, 1999
Format: Paperback
This is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read! My friends tire of me recomending it to them -- but those who take my advise fall equally in love with its charm. The princess reminds me of Pearl in _The Scarlet Letter_, she cannot be truly human until she cries. What an idea! We cannot truly expereance real joy in life until we have felt the sting of pain. MacDonald never wrote fluff, his words have meaning even when born on the wings of fairies. Be encouraged and delighted by this beautiful fairy story. They say it's just for children, but the theme of love and the importance of gravity of character are as precious to the adult reader as the pool of water to the princess.
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4.0 out of 5 starsDelightfully Whimsical Fairy Tale
By Richard R. Horton on March 27, 2001
Format: Paperback
George MacDonald was a Scottish clergyman of the mid-to-late 19th century, now known best for a variety of children`s fantasies, such as The Princess and the Goblin (recently made into a moderately successful animated feature), The Princess and Curdie, and the remarkable At the Back of the North Wind, as well as such adult novels as Lilith. Those are novels, but he also wrote some shorter pieces, perhaps aimed at a slightly younger audience (though very enjoyable for all ages). The Light Princess is one of these. (Another is The Golden Key: both books are available in very attractive Sunburst paperback editions, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak).
It is the tale of a princess who is cursed by a mean, jealous, witch so that she has no gravity. The book is full of puns, so MacDonald makes much both of her weightlessness, and the lack of gravity in her character. Naturally her parents are upset and try to have her cured, but to no avail (although the efforts of a couple of Chinese philosophers to provide a cure are rendered amusingly). However the Princess is quite happy with her "light" state (of course it is in her nature to be always happy). In the way of things, a Prince appears, and falls in love with the Princess. Then the witch realizes that her curse has failed to make the Princess unhappy, so she takes further steps, which are thwarted by the selfless behavior of the Prince, and which result in the Princess recovering her gravity: not an unmixed blessing, but one which her new maturity allows her to realize is best in the long run.
This is a delightful story, told with just the right mixture of whimsy and mildly serious moral comment. The characters are lightly and accurately drawn (the Princess` parents and the Chinese philosophers in particular, are delightful), and the story is predictable but still quite imaginative, with a number of nice touches to do with the Princess` weightlessness. Maurice Sendak`s illustrations are wonderful as usual.
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5.0 out of 5 starsFavorite fairy tale of all time
By A Customer on May 30, 1998
Format: Paperback
George MacDonald's story of the princess who lost her gravity (through an evil curse, of course), is the most pithy, humorous, lovely fairy tale on earth. Besides being weightless, she has no *inner* gravity--she has never cried. So her joy isn't real joy and her laughter is empty. The self-sacrificing love of the prince opens her eyes...and we see what wholeness means. Maurice Sendak's whimsically wonderful illustrations only serve to heighten the book's qualities...sheer delight is the result. A must for lovers of Lewis Carroll, A. A. Milne, J. M. Barrie, Pamela Travers, C. S. Lewis, Charles Kingsley or anyone with even a passing interest in children's literature.
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5.0 out of 5 starsExcellent in every respect.
By Quipper on January 16, 2005
Format: Paperback
The Light Princess has no flaws. I have never read a fairy tale that made me laugh so hard--my wife and I could hardly catch our breaths at the beginning of the story. And then we cried at the end; the symbolism is strikingly powerful. As good as this book is, however, I like one George MacDonald book better: The Lost Princess, although that book is hard to find outside of an anthology. If you can ever find The Lost Princess, however, you find another masterpiece. For the record, my -wife- likes The Light Princess better: I guess there's no accounting for taste! ;)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 starswonderful

Very charming book with surprises and characters about whom you will care.

Published 2 months ago by Stephen Finlan
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Fairy tale made of puns.

Published 5 months ago by Aenea
5.0 out of 5 starsA remarkable author

What a delight!!! Let your imagination enjoy some innocence again--a good old story.

Published 6 months ago by Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 starsokay

I enjoyed it but not as well as some of his other writing.

Published 11 months ago by mbc
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Light hearted and funny metaphysical fairy ale

Published 11 months ago by win
5.0 out of 5 starsPupse!

It's perfect! I actually ended up giving it as a gift and I took the cover off and threw it away because the plain hard copy was to beautiful to cover up. Read more

Published 14 months ago
5.0 out of 5 starsA fairy story that is not Grimm

I have long loved this story. and gave the book to my granddaughter for her birthday. The writing is faultless, the ideas original. Read more

Published 16 months ago by author B.L.
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

arrived promptly and was exactly as depicted

Published 16 months ago by Madison Elizabeth Holland
5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

Amazing and weightless!!!

Published on July 28, 2014 by old circle
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat story!

It's just a great story. Why didn't I know about this one when I was a kid? So many lessons one can learn in this. I love everything about George McDonald's writing.

Published on March 21, 2014 by Ramona Hyatt

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