Princess Tales: Once Upon a Time in Rhyme with Seek-and-Find Pictures - Hardcover

Maccarone, Grace

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312679580 ISBN 13: 9780312679583

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends, 2013

Synopsis

Once upon a time. . .

A princess danced, a princess dreamed, another found a pea.
One kissed a frog, one saved a bird, another crossed the sea.
One ate an apple, one tamed a beast, one lost a satin shoe.
And another spun straw into gold, in ten tales told anew!

Ten of the most beloved princess stories are ingeniously retold and splendidly illustrated―with cleverly hidden pictures―by author Grace Maccarone and artist Gail de Marken. From Cinderella to Sleeping Beauty, The Princess and the Pea to Snow White, these favorite tales will delight readers, happily ever after.

About this title

About the Authors

Grace Maccarone is a children’s book editor and the author of many books for young readers, including Miss Lina’s Ballerinas, illustrated by Christine Davenier, and the First Grade Friends series, illustrated by Betsy Lewin. She lives in Westchester, New York.

Gail de Marcken is the illustrator of many books for children, including The Quiltmaker’s Gift, The Quiltmaker’s Journey, Miss Hunnicutt’s Hat, and The Nutcracker and the Mouse King. She and her husband live year-round in the woods near Ely, Minnesota.

Reviews

Gr 3-5–This inventive book pairs 10 familiar stories retold in verse with seek-and-find illustrations. For example, “Cinderella” is illustrated through one dramatic, watercolor and ink spread that depicts Cinderella running away from the ball toward her pumpkin coach. Readers are invited to find fiddlers, a wand, and a see-through shoe, among other items. Plenty of lively details, including references to other fairy tales and nursery rhymes, enliven each colorful picture, but the rhymes are abrupt and sometimes forced. (“‘Be mine,' said he. ‘Oh, yes,' she said./The happy couple now is wed.”) The fun lies in the art. In some selections, the tale has a new locale. “The Princess and the Frog” has a Chinese setting complete with pagoda, dragon kite, and pandas, while “The Princess and the Pea” takes place in an ornate African court. The narratives are undistinguished, but this new twist on picture puzzle books should entertain a wide audience of fairy tale readers.–Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CAα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Part storybook, part picture puzzle, this collection features 10 of the most popular princess tales, including “Cinderella,” “Snow White,” and “Sleeping Beauty.” Each is told in verse in a spread or two and is accompanied by astonishingly intricate watercolor paintings. The brief retellings are serviceable as an introduction to or refresher in the traditional tales; unfortunately, some rhymes feel forced or fall in awkward spots in the sentence, throwing off the cadence, such as in “Thumbelina”: “From a seed of barleycorn, / Thumbelina would be born. / The seed was planted. Then in two / months’ time, a yellow flower grew.” Each spread includes a list of items readers will find as they examine the atmospheric illustration. In fact, children will discover many details to delight them, such as characters and scenes from other familiar stories and rhymes. The creators cleverly switch up the settings in a couple of cases, too, placing “The Princess and the Pea” in an African palace and “The Princess and the Frog” in China. Inventive and engaging. Grades K-3. --Jeanne McDermott

Edition details

• Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
• Publication date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0312679580
• ISBN 13: 9780312679583
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: De Marcken Gail
• Number of pages: 32