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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
A delightful little book. I look forward to introducing my daughters to it when they are old enough to enjoy it.
I saw the new 2002 cover of this book with the same title and I thought, I have read this book! Sure enough, clicking on "other editions" this is the one I had when I was younger! Man, I wish I still had this. Where do books go? I don't remember giving this away.
I adored this book and if I remember correctly, I particularly enjoyed it because the princess didn't *want* to be a princess. She would creep out of the castle and go play in the woods barefoot. This story was great and probably started my young mind on a "never turning back" mindset of princess rebellion. I recommend it!
I adored this book and if I remember correctly, I particularly enjoyed it because the princess didn't *want* to be a princess. She would creep out of the castle and go play in the woods barefoot. This story was great and probably started my young mind on a "never turning back" mindset of princess rebellion. I recommend it!
When the infant Princess Amethyst has the honor of being given a gift by a fairy, so many possibilities come to mind - beauty, kindness, patience. What NO one expected was the gift of being...ordinary. It’s hard to imagine how much this might throw a palace for a loop! As Amy grows and learns what she loves, she finds that it is mostly OUTSIDE the palace and when the opportunity arises to create a different life for herself, she grabs it.
This little pink paperback book was such a part of my childhood. I can see my eleven year old self, lying on my bed after church, reading it over and over. I think I really connected with Amy’s ordinariness and the fact that it became her strength. It’s cute and romantic, a bit cheesy and predictable but so perfect for the audience it’s designed for. I couldn’t have picked a better “nostalgia” book for me.
This little pink paperback book was such a part of my childhood. I can see my eleven year old self, lying on my bed after church, reading it over and over. I think I really connected with Amy’s ordinariness and the fact that it became her strength. It’s cute and romantic, a bit cheesy and predictable but so perfect for the audience it’s designed for. I couldn’t have picked a better “nostalgia” book for me.
Review originally posted on Reading Autistically.
At the christening of Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne, the seventh daughter born to the King and Queen, all of the fairies in attendance grant her extraordinary gifts. But then Crustacea, the most powerful of all, grants her a different kind of gift, that of ordinariness. And so Princess Amy, as she becomes known, grows up unlike her six stunningly beautiful and talented sisters, quite ordinary, brown hair, freckles, clumsiness and all, not at all what a princess is supposed to be, at least according to everyone else. With her marriage prospects looking grimmer by the day (nobody wants to marry a brunette with freckles, gasp, the horror) the kingdom hatches a plan to trick a prince into marrying her, all it'll take is importing a dragon to ravage the land!
This was an adorable little read, I would have loved this as a kid. Who wants to be a perfect princess, wafting about looking pretty while waiting to marry a perfectly boring prince? I certainly didn't. Climbing trees and befriending squirrels is way more fun, and Amy certainly thinks so too. This princess may be ordinary but she isn't boring, she's kind and helpful and hardworking, happy to sacrifice her life of luxury for the good of the people, and to work for her living when she needs to, doing hard work for little pay but not shying away from it, taking pride in it.
I loved that this looked at being ordinary as a strength, not a weakness, something that we really should be teaching children rather than the opposite. Sure, sometimes people are extraordinary, but most of the time most people are just ordinary, and that is perfectly fine. Though this is still a fairy tale through and through, with a happily ever after ending, it is just subversive enough to stand out. There was a touch of romance and it was pretty obvious what the twist would be, but even that was adorable, this was just all round a charming little read, one that I'd certainly give to any little girl who isn't the perfect princess either.
At the christening of Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne, the seventh daughter born to the King and Queen, all of the fairies in attendance grant her extraordinary gifts. But then Crustacea, the most powerful of all, grants her a different kind of gift, that of ordinariness. And so Princess Amy, as she becomes known, grows up unlike her six stunningly beautiful and talented sisters, quite ordinary, brown hair, freckles, clumsiness and all, not at all what a princess is supposed to be, at least according to everyone else. With her marriage prospects looking grimmer by the day (nobody wants to marry a brunette with freckles, gasp, the horror) the kingdom hatches a plan to trick a prince into marrying her, all it'll take is importing a dragon to ravage the land!
This was an adorable little read, I would have loved this as a kid. Who wants to be a perfect princess, wafting about looking pretty while waiting to marry a perfectly boring prince? I certainly didn't. Climbing trees and befriending squirrels is way more fun, and Amy certainly thinks so too. This princess may be ordinary but she isn't boring, she's kind and helpful and hardworking, happy to sacrifice her life of luxury for the good of the people, and to work for her living when she needs to, doing hard work for little pay but not shying away from it, taking pride in it.
I loved that this looked at being ordinary as a strength, not a weakness, something that we really should be teaching children rather than the opposite. Sure, sometimes people are extraordinary, but most of the time most people are just ordinary, and that is perfectly fine. Though this is still a fairy tale through and through, with a happily ever after ending, it is just subversive enough to stand out. There was a touch of romance and it was pretty obvious what the twist would be, but even that was adorable, this was just all round a charming little read, one that I'd certainly give to any little girl who isn't the perfect princess either.
This book was simply lovely! The story sucked me in and I couldn't put the book down. Definitely recommend it. Was a wonderful find.
“But the King of Ambergeldar only saw that among the glittering diamonds and ropes of gleaming pearls, Her Serene and Royal Highness, Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne of Phantasmorania was wearing a little necklace made of acorn cups.” (109)
This book was cute. A very quick, light read! It had all the elements of a classic fairytale—royalty, a fairy godmother’s curse, woodland creatures, dragon-slaying princes, a maid living in an attic, balls, happily ever after—but these tropes were all met with fun twists. And I always loveee a good spin on fairytales.
Princess “Amy” was apparently a very ordinary princess (and by ordinary they mean ugly), but she had a winning personality! I liked that her story teaches “it’s what’s on the inside that counts” in a creative way. I love that the godmother made Amy get a job instead of bippity-boppity-booing her way into a new nice dress. I also thought the book’s language and pacing was great, and I loved the silly kingdom names!
I didn’t love that Amy was too much Not-Like-The-Other-Girls, a cliché that frowns upon girly-girls. (There are a couple other things I could probably critique but I’ll let them slide because it’s a cute children’s book!)
This book was cute. A very quick, light read! It had all the elements of a classic fairytale—royalty, a fairy godmother’s curse, woodland creatures, dragon-slaying princes, a maid living in an attic, balls, happily ever after—but these tropes were all met with fun twists. And I always loveee a good spin on fairytales.
Princess “Amy” was apparently a very ordinary princess (and by ordinary they mean ugly), but she had a winning personality! I liked that her story teaches “it’s what’s on the inside that counts” in a creative way. I love that the godmother made Amy get a job instead of bippity-boppity-booing her way into a new nice dress. I also thought the book’s language and pacing was great, and I loved the silly kingdom names!
I didn’t love that Amy was too much Not-Like-The-Other-Girls, a cliché that frowns upon girly-girls. (There are a couple other things I could probably critique but I’ll let them slide because it’s a cute children’s book!)
A sweet story that I loved as a kid. Not as progressive as I might want now, but has a lot of charm.
This is a fantastic little fairy tale about a perfectly ordinary girl who gets to live a fulfilling life because of her ordinariness. Fairy tales actually have a tendency to get on my nerves for exactly the same reasons the author states in her beginning love note, which was hands down my favorite part. This story is fresh and fun. Amy is so lovable, and Percy is dashing and as real as a character of his type can be. I enjoyed it immensely and it was a very quick read.
I just loved this sweet little story about an ordinary princess, the best kind to be.