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4.38 AVERAGE
4.38 AVERAGE
A must read for anyone like me with a daughter who wants a prince to come and save her.
This book is a clever, entertaining subversion of traditional fairytale gender roles. I loved it when I was a kid – not just because Princess Elizabeth outsmarted a dragon, but also because her expressions were so funny in the illustrations.
A lot of Goodreads reviews I've seen have described Elizabeth as a 'strong female character', but I think we really need to throw that stupid cliché away, as too often, people interpret a 'strong woman' as someone who uses force, disrespect and ruthless domination of others to get what she wants… and someone who still looks 'pretty' or 'hot' while doing it. By contrast, Princess Elizabeth uses intelligence and persuasion to defeat the dragon, using its own vanity as a weapon. And she is utterly unconcerned with her outer appearance, rejecting her dull, helpless prince fiancé when he complains that she doesn't look pretty. Her 'strength' is internal and intellectual, and her actions don't need to be validated by other people's approval, which are things to applaud.
However, let's not dwell on the ridiculousness of a paper bag somehow being the only object to escape a dragon's fiery destruction…
A lot of Goodreads reviews I've seen have described Elizabeth as a 'strong female character', but I think we really need to throw that stupid cliché away, as too often, people interpret a 'strong woman' as someone who uses force, disrespect and ruthless domination of others to get what she wants… and someone who still looks 'pretty' or 'hot' while doing it. By contrast, Princess Elizabeth uses intelligence and persuasion to defeat the dragon, using its own vanity as a weapon. And she is utterly unconcerned with her outer appearance, rejecting her dull, helpless prince fiancé when he complains that she doesn't look pretty. Her 'strength' is internal and intellectual, and her actions don't need to be validated by other people's approval, which are things to applaud.
However, let's not dwell on the ridiculousness of a paper bag somehow being the only object to escape a dragon's fiery destruction…
The princess is not the damsel in distress in this one.