Alright, this book, in some ways, doesn't need to be reviewed; it's a mainstay in a children's literature bookshelf. However, if you're like me, then you haven't read the book for years and have vague memories of the story mixed with images from film/t.v. of varying qualities. So, to do the book justice, I reread it.
A Little Princess is about a girl, Sara Crewe, who possesses a precocious intellect, a global worldview (having been raised in India), a vivid imagination and a very doting father (who lavishes luxuries upon her). Her father, the wealthy Captain Crewe, takes her from her happy home in India to a strict and cold boarding school in London under the tutelage of the aptly-named Miss Minchin. She spends several years there, befriending unlikely students and scullery maids, and garnering the growing resentment and jealousy of some other students as well as Miss Minchin herself. On her 11th birthday they receive word that her father has died and all of his money gone in a bad investment leaving her penniless. Miss Minchin now takes the opportunity to avenge her long-standing animosity to the child by making her one of the lowest and most poorly-treated servants in the house: depriving her of food, humiliating her in public and having her room in an attic with the rats. However, despite this ill-treatment, Sara maintains her pride and spirit and (as you likely know) ultimately triumphs.
In my head, I had remembered Sara as a sweet and cheerful protagonist, almost bubbly. Upon rereading the book, though, I saw that Sara is completely different- very thoughtful and quiet- even described as solemn. What keeps her spirit up isn't effervescence but equanimity. Her insistence on behaving as though she is a princess is very striking (not the princess/diva manner I would normally associate with the word) but rather a combination noblesse oblige and tranquil pride. Her few slips into discouragement and anger only highlight her general way of being rather than contradict it. I was quite inspired by this book and struck by Frances Hodgson Burnett's non-condescending manner of writing. If not for the slight classism in the book, it could easily have been written today. If you haven't read this book in a while, you should definitely revisit it- I guarantee the story will both pleasantly surprise you and might even move you.
Like many books I review, I'll read a mention of the book from some lucky bookseller who has an advanced copy. I'll get excited about the book, rush to my neighborhood bookstore or library and then realize the book doesn't come out for several months. Sigh.
Princess Ben was one of these books so I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived at my library. And promptly settled down to read it...
Princess Ben is about a young free-spirited and slightly overindulged princess, who after her doting parents are tragically murdered, is left to the devices and education of her cruel aunt. Her aunt, Queen Sophia, becomes more frantic about the quest to cultivate Princess Ben with hopes for making her marriage material when the neighboring kingdom (the chief suspect in the parents' deaths) begins to put pressure to overtake the kingdom. After one particularly bad interaction between the Queen Sophia and Princess Ben, she is shut up in a cell behind her aunt's room. However, the room holds an unexpected escape by way of a secret passageway that leads to a mysterious magical room...
Princess Ben started off with a bit of an angsty feel and, when coupled with the tragic circumstances, I steeled myself for a typical tortured heroine fairy tale. However, by the Part Two of the book, I realized that this story was far from the typical fairy tale! For start, the heroine isn't a delicate golden-haired beauty or even a feisty brunette beauty. She's a sulky, strong-willed girl with a voracious appetite. Her maturing and growth throughout the book is only one of many; it amazed me that characters that I made immediate judgments about (oh, she's the villain, he's the love interest) would change through the story as the narrator, the irrepressible Princess Ben, changed. Catherine Gilbert Murdock's clever interweaving of fairy tale references only add to the cleverness of the story rather than serve as distraction.
This story was deeper than the average "fairytale retelling" genre and delivered humor, adventure, and dare I say it, a valuable moral.
I was so excited when I first heard about the release of The Dragonfly Pool; I completely adore Eva Ibbotson and the story sounded perfect.
And, of course, it was.
The Dragonfly Pool begins in pre-WWII London where feisty Tally has to leave her beloved doctor father, and the danger of the city, for a progressive boarding school in southern England. Despite missing home, she soon has friends and mentors that help her feel at home and she is renewed with a sense of purpose. After seeing a special on Bergania's king bravely defying Hitler, Tally is inspired to visit and when she hears of an international dance festival taking place there, she rallies her classmates to participate. Of course, things don't go as planned: there is an assassination, a prince on the lam, two hideous henchman, a rare Outer Mongolian pedestal dog, among many other things.
I think that if I could have written a novel as a child, I would have wanted to write just like Ms. Ibbotson. She has marvelous lead characters- definitely not cookie-cutter heros and heroines- some are spirited, some are shy but all are completely three-dimensional. Her villains are delightfully abhorrent and usually quite repulsive (one villain kept a picture of Hitler in a locket, another collected rare glass eyeballs). Her plots are usually outlandish and difficult to summarize (as I proved by my above paragraph) but, when reading, are easy to follow. Her books move at a perfect pace and always have just the ending one wants. The Dragonfly Pool was classic Ibbotson but classic Ibbotson with a cherry on top. It was one of those read-straight-through-the-night-until-I-finish books. Loved it.
What authors write the way you, as a child, wanted books to be written?
A brief history of my reading Linda Urban's A Crooked Kind of Perfect: I had prepared myself not to like the book; I'm not a big fan of drama in kids' literature and the content lent itself to drama (mother works all the time, father has OCD, she's an outcast at school) so I feared that the book would take itself too seriously. But one of my favorite bloggers, ShelfTalker, raved about it so much that I grudgingly checked it out of the library.
And the book blew me away. So fabulous I got goosebumps multiple times.
The story is about Zoe Elias who has grand visions of playing the piano in Carnegie Hall after watching a PBS special about Vladimir Horowitz. Since Horowitz makes his debut at 17-years-old, Zoe figures that (since she is almost 11) she has six years to learn how to play piano perfectly; a chance to wear a tiara, long gloves and maybe get her distracted mother's attention and admiration. However her well-meaning father gets overwhelmed while trying to purchase the piano and ends up buying an organ from the mall- the Perfectone D-60- instead of the shiny grand piano she has been daydreaming about. Since six months of free lessons are included, Zoe begins by learning how to play t.v. themes and 70s pop tunes. Her enthusiasm to learn and passionate practicing prompts her teacher (Ms. Mabelline Person- pronounced "Per-saaahn") to register her for the annual Perform-O-Rama organ competition. Now if she can only focus on her practice while dealing with her father's neuroses, her best friend's ambivalence, her new friend- a boy, her mother's hectic schedule and her own insecurities.
This book amazed me. It was the perfect snapshot-of-childhood story with humor and poignancy but poignancy that was never heavyhanded. I couldn't stop talking about it and trying (unsuccessfully) to relate parts of the book to anyone who would listen to my meandering until I said, "Well, you should read it, that's all."
I don't know what else I can say about it. You should read it, that's all.
Earlier today we introduced you to some of the words you can learn in the French section of Oxford Language Dictionaries Online, which are freely available through the 21st. But perhaps French isn’t your thing. Well, how about German? Take the quiz below to see how much you know and if you get stuck turn to OLDO for help. Be sure to check back this afternoon for me Dictionary Day fun from OLDO!
Question 1: Your German friend tells you in conversation, “Das ist nicht mein Bier.” But you’re not drinking beer! What does he mean?
Question 2: English speakers say “kill two birds with one stone”. What do German speakers say?
Question 3: If a German offers you Himmel und Erde, what should you expect?
Question 4: English speakers say “it’s no picnic”, but how would you say this in German?
Question 5: What do Germans see instead of “pink elephants”? (more…)
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Alright, this book, in some ways, doesn't need to be reviewed; it's a mainstay in a children's literature bookshelf. However, if you're like me, then you haven't read the book for years and have vague memories of the story mixed with images from film/t.v. of varying qualities. So, to do the book justice, I reread it.
This is the book that I think of when I think of my childhood favorites helping to shape my moral code. Thanks for writing about it!
I was glad I revisited it! Some of those old classics tend to be taken for granted. Thank you for reading.