Princesses Are People Too: Two Modern Fairy Tales by Susie Hoch Morgenstern, Serge Bloch (Illustrator), Bill May (Translator)

Product Details

Publishers Weekly

Morgenstern (Secret Letters from 0 to 10) offers two slim stories that mildly tweak fairy-tale notions of princesses and princesshood. The first and more successful entry, Even Princesses Have to Go to School introduces Princess Yona, only daughter of a king and queen who have fallen on hard times (and who seem to have nothing to say except Don't forget you're a princess!) Perpetually bored, Yona is delighted when her parents sell their dilapidated 57-room castle and move to a three-room apartment; their new palace, she notes happily, has hot and cold running water and a flush toilet, while the best part was their noisy neighbors.... Yona could practically follow an entire television show one of her neighbors was watching. The setup is wittier than the plot, which has to do with Yona's desire to attend school, and the message here that all little girls are princesses in their father's eyes, is straight out of A Little Princess. The second story, Someday My Prince Will Scratch, follows Princess Emma's search for a prince who will satisfactorily scratch the annoying itch in her back. Its humor hinges on insults based on the suitors' names (Go jump in the lake, Drake!; You're a rat, Pat), and while this approach may appeal to some readers, others may tire of it quickly. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. (May) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-5-Two lighthearted, whimsical tales. In the first, Princess Yona wants to attend regular school just like all the other children. Convincing her parents takes some doing, though-they think that school isn't the proper place for genuine royalty. But convince them she does, and as they supply her with the things she needs they find that they also enjoy doing everyday things, such as shopping in a mall. The second story finds Princess Emma afflicted with a terrible itch. She has to endure dreadful dances and dates with unsuitable princes until she finds one who will properly scratch her back. Both of these stories are told tongue-in-cheek with a quirky look at what it means to be a princess today. Yona's family has fallen on hard times and must sell their castle and move into a three-room apartment, and Emma's suitors include a lawyer prince, an engineer, a scholar, a magician, and a poet. Humorous black-and-white cartoon illustrations accompany the stories.-Terrie Dorio, Santa Monica Public Library, CA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In a double dose of puckishness from Morgenstern (Three Days Off, 2001, etc.), two spirited young princesses tackle personal issues. First, after bored, lonely Princess Yona, scion of impoverished royalty, finally discovers where all the other children are going every morning, she drags her moping parents out into the world to enroll her in school and to buy her a suitable wardrobe. Then bookish Princess Emma, afflicted by a maddeningly elusive itch on her back, rejects an array of shy, sly, and misguided suitors before realizing that, even though unpretentious Prince Ray can't find the itch either, she likes the way he scratches. With Bloch's (A Book of Coupons, 2001, etc.) small, freely drawn ink sketches to press tongue even more firmly into cheek, these episodes, originally published separately and in French, are sure pleasers for fans of James Thurber's Many Moons (1990) or the princess tales of Gail Carson Levine. (Fiction. 8-10)