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Summary
Summary
In this hilarious collection of princess stories with a distinctive spin, there's Cinderella, who was, though you may not know it, Sleeping Beauty's mom; Sleeping Beauty, who didn't fall asleep because of the prick of a needle--it was sheer boredom; Snow White and her diminutive friends--Les, Lou, Sam, Hank, Nat, Myron, and Bethanne; the princess of frog fame; and the princess of pea fame.
Author Notes
ZOë B. ALLEY is the author of the acclaimed THERE'S A WOLF AT THE DOOR, which Booklist called in a starred review, "A giggly read-aloud as well as a snortingly funny read-alone."
R. W. ALLEY has illustrated over seventy books for children. He is best known for the Paddington Bear series by Michael Bond and BECAUSE YOUR DADDY LOVES YOU by Andrew Clements. The Alleys live in Barrington, RI.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 2 Up-The team who dreamed up the hilarious There's a Wolf at the Door (Roaring Brook, 2008) is back with princess fairy tales that are as fluid as they are fractured. This colorful, oversize graphic novel is packed with puns, witticisms, and sarcastic asides. It opens as Cinderella-whose real name turns out to be Ashley-tries on the glass slipper and it fits. "My princess! Marry me!" says handsome Prince Dennis. "My prince! Okay!" says Cinderella. Before you know it, they have a daughter. A certain witch who is not invited to the christening casts a spell and-voila!-Princess Dawn becomes Sleeping Beauty. She is something of a spoiled brat and wakes to the kiss of another handsome prince-one who takes himself far too seriously. But she's not ready to make a commitment, so off she goes into the woods, where she invades the house of seven dwarfs and turns into Snow White. Wouldn't you know it, the same witch who put her whole household to sleep now offers her a poisoned apple. The serious prince once again engages in mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and this time S.B./S.W.'s ready for marriage. Her daughter falls in love with a frog, and her granddaughter is forced to sleep on a mountain of mattresses concealing a terribly uncomfortable pea. Two mice provide a clever running commentary in all five tales, and the witch who appears throughout gradually undergoes a dramatic change of lifestyle. Marvelous for anyone with a wry sense of humor, There's a Princess in the Palace deserves a place in every library.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Like their 2008 collection The Wolf at the Door, with which this volume shares its oversize format, the Alleys' panel-art versions of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, The Frog Prince, and The Princess and the Pea are part retelling, part parody. Knit together with some creative genealogy, the stories downplay beauty and romance and concentrate on feisty dialogue. Two mice provide running commentary-"Don't you think she might need to brush after being asleep for so long?" one asks about Sleeping Beauty. Earlier, one asks, "Shouldn't the Prince love Cinderella no matter what she's wearing or who she is?" "Of course," replies the other, "but she doesn't know that yet!" R.W. Alley packs plenty of action into diminutive panels, and the figures' comic facial expressions provoke giggles without resorting to grotesquerie. "I recently read in Better Moats and Gardens that a true princess could never be comfy sleeping on top of even such a small lump as this!" says the queen, with a conspiratorial glance at the camera; readers can practically hear her voice. This will enter the rotation of bedtime favorites. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Through a heretofore-unknown series of marriages and births, the Alleys create an impressive royal lineage that links Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, the Frog Prince and his bride, and Destiny, a princess with a pea-sized sleeping problem. As in their previous joint outing (There's a Wolf at the Door, rev. 11/08), author and illustrator acknowledge this huge undertaking with an oversized book that begs groups of children to gather round, find a number of amusing details in the smartly rendered comic-book panels, and share the puns and jokes. Cinderella's real name, for example, is Ashley, and the Frog Prince confesses, "It's not easy being green!" A pair of mice play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, offering wisecracks throughout. When Cinderella's fairy godmother chooses them to serve as horses, one remarks, "I didn't realize this would require audience participation!" And there's this to say about Sleeping Beauty's overgrown palace: "Wow, they must have great soil! And some crazy fertilizer!" The seven dwarfs shatter folklore's glass ceiling by including one woman, Bethanne, in their ranks, and there's no coal mine for this group: they return home from a shopping expedition to find Snow White fast asleep in their cottage, with a thoroughly modern Bethanne exclaiming, "OMG!" Indeed. betty carter (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The Alley duo spread the joy of There's a Wolf at the Door (2009) into another oversized and overstuffed (with giggles, that is) volume. Within a graphic-novel format, the tales of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, the Frog Prince and the Princess and the Pea develop familial and hilarious interconnections while retaining the stories' traditional structures. The humor is decidedly contemporary: Cinderella's fairy godmother sends her off with, "Have fun! Make good decisions!" and Princess Dawn (Cinderella's daughter, Sleeping Beauty) whines about being bored. A pair of mice who appear in each tale and in many frames kibitz vigorously, commenting, punning and making allusions that are funny even if readers do not entirely understand them. The colors are bright, the line vivacious and the typefaces dance and sing. The Dwarfs in Snow White (Les, Lew, Sam, Hank, Nat, Myron--and Bethanne) each sport a different old-guy hat (or kerchief), the princes are all handsome and supportive and Joan the disgruntled fairy finds a new calling in real estate. Smartly hysterical. (Graphic fairy tales. 7-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The Alleys (There's a Wolf at the Door, 2008) cleverly intertwine the tales of Cinderella, the princess and the pea, Snow White, the frog prince, and Sleeping Beauty into a fractured and delightfully bewitched royal family record. Bright cartoon panels show action and expressions pertinent to the text, while tiny bystanders mice, the wicked witch's magic mirror pitch irreverent comments from the sidelines. Readers who know the straight versions of these tales will find the wry and pun-seeded retellings here a total giggle fest. Questions one might have asked such as how folks comforted themselves before the invention of junk food get a nod or a wink as the stories slide by. The basic story arcs are true to the traditional ones, and the scenery and costuming are vaguely medieval with a pink candy coating. The oversize pages are fun to explore, and newly independent readers will slow down to sort through the myriad visual and verbal details without feeling swamped.--Goldsmith, Francisca Copyright 2010 Booklist
