Song For A Princess - Hardcover

Mortimer, Rachael

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0545248353 ISBN 13: 9780545248358

Publisher: Chicken House, 2010

Synopsis

A humble little wren makes the lonely princess happy again when he sings a song full of all the wonderful words he's been collecting in his nest.

When the birds in the palace garden realize the princess is sad, they decide to offer their best to make her smile again. The peacock tries first, proudly displaying his beautiful plumes, but the princess barely lifts her head to look. Then the magpie brings silver and gold, but she only asks him whose jewels he stole. A banquet from the kingfisher, the jackdaws' aerial show -- nothing helps. Then the wren perches on her balcony and sings a soothing story full of all the happy words he's been collecting. "Please never leave, little wren," the princess says, "and I shall never be lonely."

About this title

About the Author

Rachael Mortimer is the author of Sammy's Surprise Deliveries, Snoring Beauty, and The Three Billy Goats Fluff. She lives in London with her husband and their two daughters.

Maddy McClellan is the illustrator of The Princess and the Pets, Kit the Cat, Dig the Dog and Other Stories, T'wit T'woo, and many other picture books. She lives with her husband and their two sons in South Downs, England, where she works in an old flint barn, visited daily by the odd chicken or duck.

Reviews

PreS-Gr 1–Happiness abounds in the bright, cheerful palace garden in which the princess and her friend share stories. A little brown bird gathers their words and weaves them into his nest. He prefers words over worms, since words can bring happiness over and over again, whereas worms are “gone in two beakfuls.” But then the friend has to go away, and the princess's resulting loneliness brings rain and gloom to the garden. Following the traditional fairy-tale pattern, all the people of the land try to cheer the princess, but only the most unlikely hero succeeds. The flashier palace birds give it their best shot but fail. Instead it is the plain brown bird who brings her solace, using the words he has collected to sing a lullaby about friendship. The illustrations use collage elements to add texture and incorporate words into the hills, the trees, and the bird's nest. Bright colors create a cheerful book, even during the princess's lonely period. Little girls with a princess fixation will enjoy this one and relate to the universal theme of missing a friend. Adult readers will appreciate a princess option about the sustaining power of words and story, with nary a prince anywhere.–Suzanne Myers Harold, Multnomah County Library System, Portland, ORα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Edition details

• Publisher: Chicken House
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0545248353
• ISBN 13: 9780545248358
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: McClellan Maddy
• Number of pages: 32