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frankisib's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this great little fairy tale. I loved the character and the humor that Lowry used to tell the story.
greenbeanteenqueen's review against another edition
5.0
About the Book: It's almost the day of Princess Patricia Priscilla's sixteenth birthday ball-the day the Princess will be asked to choose a suitor. But the princess is bored. So she decides to disguise herself as a peasant and go to school for the week. Princess Patricia Priscilla loves school and she's not looking forward to her birthday ball-especially when she finds out who the suitors will be! Will Princess Patricia Priscilla find a way to end her boredom and marry a man she loves?
GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I grew up reading the Anastasia books and The Giver. The Birthday Ball reminded my why Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors.
Ms. Lowry takes on the fairy tale genre and there's such a wonderful blend of humor, heart, and romance. Princess Patricia Priscilla could have been a snobby rich princess, but instead she's a girl who is trapped and you can't help but feel sorry for her and understand her need to escape and try something new. She really is a endearing character and I was cheering her on the whole time.
The book starts out with chapters introducing multiple characters, but the characters come together and it's a very fun romp told with Ms. Lowry's wit and tongue in cheek humor. The three suitors for the princess are hilarious-there's a prince who is horribly ugly, but mirrors have been banned in his kingdom, so he doesn't know his fate, there's a prince who thinks he is the most handsome prince and must look in a mirror at all times, and there's the conjoined twins who fight all the time but share a love of bathroom humor. At first I wasn't a fan of the chapters introducing the various princes, but I think the prince's stories save this from being a very princessy book that will appeal to only fairy tale readers. With the princes stories woven in, I think there's a wider appeal (although it might be hard to sell a book with a princess on the cover to boys). All the characters come together in the end for one of the most delightful balls I've read about.
I think The Birthday Ball would make a great read-aloud for parents and children as well as classrooms. The book may be marketed for tweens, but I would recommend this one for any age reader who loves a good fairy tale. Ms. Lowry shows us why she is one of the best children's authors around.
GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I grew up reading the Anastasia books and The Giver. The Birthday Ball reminded my why Lois Lowry is one of my favorite authors.
Ms. Lowry takes on the fairy tale genre and there's such a wonderful blend of humor, heart, and romance. Princess Patricia Priscilla could have been a snobby rich princess, but instead she's a girl who is trapped and you can't help but feel sorry for her and understand her need to escape and try something new. She really is a endearing character and I was cheering her on the whole time.
The book starts out with chapters introducing multiple characters, but the characters come together and it's a very fun romp told with Ms. Lowry's wit and tongue in cheek humor. The three suitors for the princess are hilarious-there's a prince who is horribly ugly, but mirrors have been banned in his kingdom, so he doesn't know his fate, there's a prince who thinks he is the most handsome prince and must look in a mirror at all times, and there's the conjoined twins who fight all the time but share a love of bathroom humor. At first I wasn't a fan of the chapters introducing the various princes, but I think the prince's stories save this from being a very princessy book that will appeal to only fairy tale readers. With the princes stories woven in, I think there's a wider appeal (although it might be hard to sell a book with a princess on the cover to boys). All the characters come together in the end for one of the most delightful balls I've read about.
I think The Birthday Ball would make a great read-aloud for parents and children as well as classrooms. The book may be marketed for tweens, but I would recommend this one for any age reader who loves a good fairy tale. Ms. Lowry shows us why she is one of the best children's authors around.
hezann73's review against another edition
4.0
No surprises here, just a sweet story by a wonderful author. This is the kind of book I imagine teachers are reading out loud to their classes.
annieliz's review against another edition
4.0
Funny and charming, definitely for a bit older audience than its width and winsome cover would lead you to believe. I would recommend to a mature 4th grader, more likely 5th and 6th. Love the illustrations, and the heroine!
pussreboots's review against another edition
4.0
Although I am long past my childhood, Lois Lowry has become one of my favorite authors in the last decade. She writes for a wide range of ages from preschoolers up through high schoolers. I put her books in the same category as Anita Shreve; I know each book will be very different but well worth the read.
Lowry's 2010 middle grade book is a fantasy called The Birthday Ball. It's set up a little bit like Mark Twain's The Prince and Pauper except with a female lead, Princess Patricia Priscilla. Her sixteenth birthday is arriving and she's forced to pick a future husband from the suitors who have arrived to help her celebrate. She'd rather not.
In fact she'd rather experience the village life her maid describes to her every day. So she borrows her clothes, sneaks out and enrolls herself in the local school.
When the book first started and the premise was being set up I have to admit I cringed. If The Birthday Ball were written by anyone else, I probably wouldn't have given the book enough of a chance. Once "Pat" starts going to school and making friends she begins to blossom as a character.
In terms of tone, The Birthday Ball is one of Lowry's lighter fares. It's silly like The Willoughbys but it does have a positive message for young girls.
Four stars. Review copy via NetGalley.
Lowry's 2010 middle grade book is a fantasy called The Birthday Ball. It's set up a little bit like Mark Twain's The Prince and Pauper except with a female lead, Princess Patricia Priscilla. Her sixteenth birthday is arriving and she's forced to pick a future husband from the suitors who have arrived to help her celebrate. She'd rather not.
In fact she'd rather experience the village life her maid describes to her every day. So she borrows her clothes, sneaks out and enrolls herself in the local school.
When the book first started and the premise was being set up I have to admit I cringed. If The Birthday Ball were written by anyone else, I probably wouldn't have given the book enough of a chance. Once "Pat" starts going to school and making friends she begins to blossom as a character.
In terms of tone, The Birthday Ball is one of Lowry's lighter fares. It's silly like The Willoughbys but it does have a positive message for young girls.
Four stars. Review copy via NetGalley.
crtney's review against another edition
4.0
Cute, light-hearted fun with a little (but just a little) more depth than I was expecting.
plexippa's review
4.0
Five days before her sixteenth birthday, Princess Patricia Priscilla wants nothing more than an escape from her pampered but boring life. On her birthday, she will have to attend a ball and choose a royal husband from a rather grim assortment of nobles.
Lowry's silly wordplay and Feiffer's breezy illustrations combine perfectly in this whimsical tale. A little over the top at times, but a sweet, funny read.
Lowry's silly wordplay and Feiffer's breezy illustrations combine perfectly in this whimsical tale. A little over the top at times, but a sweet, funny read.
sandyd's review against another edition
5.0
A kid's book that I loved, despite not being really interested in the description (an unsatisfied princess has a 16th birthday approaching, with some unlikeable suitors). I read it because I've loved just about everything Lowry's written, and this was no exception. My 8 year old daughter also really enjoyed it, and there was some fun but challenging vocabulary for her - the princess has a cat named Delicious, and Lowry manages to find a lot of words that rhyme with delicious.
One caveat - I did not like many of the illustrations, which were done by Jules Feiffer, who also illustrated "The Phantom Tollbooth". His drawings were great when it came to the bad guys - the Duke of Dyspepsia, Prince Percival of Pustula - but I didn't like it when the likable characters were all weirdly distorted.
One caveat - I did not like many of the illustrations, which were done by Jules Feiffer, who also illustrated "The Phantom Tollbooth". His drawings were great when it came to the bad guys - the Duke of Dyspepsia, Prince Percival of Pustula - but I didn't like it when the likable characters were all weirdly distorted.
alicea's review against another edition
4.0
It’s amazing to me that the same author that wrote The Giver wrote the book I'm reviewing today because they couldn’t be more different. The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry is a nontraditional fairytale about a princess who’d rather live among the people than follow any ridiculous royal decrees. (Roman Holiday, anyone?) Now that she’s turning 16 years old, Princess Patricia Priscilla's expected to marry one of the three suitors who are courting for her hand. Each man is more ghastly than the last. A lot of time is spent describing these hateful men (and the illustrations by Jules Feiffer really drive it home how disgusting and despicable her choices truly are. As in much of middle grade fiction, her parents are blind to her discomfort and unhappiness as they are caught up in their own lives and interests. (Dad is obsessed with butterflies and Mom is preoccupied with her wardrobe and appearance.) So neither takes any notice of her switching places with her maid and escaping out into the village to go to the local school. Dark humor coupled with the somewhat realistic portrayal of what it's like to be a village peasant plus the fantastic illustrations make this a quick, fun read. 7/10