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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
On the first page of Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, there's the following lines: "Some of you may not even realize that there's more than one Prince Charming. And that none of them are actually named Charming. No one is. Charming isn't a name. It's an adjective." How can you not love a book that starts out like that?
The book gets better and better from that point. It's the best kind of kid's book. It has layers of plot and humor. Young kids will laugh at the physical comedy, adults will chortle at the subtle play on words, and all will guffaw parody of classic fairy tales. Hero's Guide turns four overplayed, kinda boring fairy tales on their heads, making them feel fresh and modern. Even better, the book doesn't take itself too seriously. I had the feeling that the author was laughing alongside the reader.
Princes Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav are generally a bunch of screw-ups (some more than others) who accidentally rescued their iconic princesses (or in some cases really didn't) and ended up immortalized in fairy tales. Each have distinctive personalities. Frederic is a wimp, Duncan is an eccentric airhead, Gustav is a bombastic show-off, while Liam really is a well-meaning hero. They are paired with delightfully fleshed out princesses. Frederic "saved" Ella/Cinderella, who is a brave, adventure loving girl who is bored by Frederic risk-free life. Snow White actually is in love with Duncan and almost as strange as he is, but she needs a little space. Rapunzel and Gustav are total opposites. Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty is also the opposite of Liam - in her case, she's the spoiled, evil princess and Liam is the wonderful, dashing prince and he wants nothing to do with her.
As you'd expect in a modern fairy tale, it's the princesses who end up rescuing the princes, who are horribly lost in the forest. Well, with the exception of Briar Rose, who wants to entrap Liam in her thorns. Liam's little sister Lila is the one who joins up with the "good" princesses to save the four guys. The story goes back and forth between the princes and the princesses. The boys are bumbling around, helping each other out, arguing with each other, nearly getting the others killed - over and over again. The resourceful girls get themselves out of dangerous situations and save the boys.
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is a delightfully fun read. Even though it's aimed at younger audiences, it has that timeless feel that will appeal to readers of all ages and likely won't feel dated in twenty years time. The plot does drag a bit at time, but the writing is so witty that I was never tempted to give up. It can be a long journey, but it's a fun one.
I listened to Hero's Guide on audio and I can't recommend that reading method enough. Bronson Pinchot is the narrator. He has a wonderful deep reading voice and perfect comedic timing. I missed seeing the book's illustrations, but I think audio is the way to go with Hero's Guide. It brought the book to life. Whatever method you choose, I highly recommend The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.
Rating: 4 / 5
The book gets better and better from that point. It's the best kind of kid's book. It has layers of plot and humor. Young kids will laugh at the physical comedy, adults will chortle at the subtle play on words, and all will guffaw parody of classic fairy tales. Hero's Guide turns four overplayed, kinda boring fairy tales on their heads, making them feel fresh and modern. Even better, the book doesn't take itself too seriously. I had the feeling that the author was laughing alongside the reader.
Princes Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav are generally a bunch of screw-ups (some more than others) who accidentally rescued their iconic princesses (or in some cases really didn't) and ended up immortalized in fairy tales. Each have distinctive personalities. Frederic is a wimp, Duncan is an eccentric airhead, Gustav is a bombastic show-off, while Liam really is a well-meaning hero. They are paired with delightfully fleshed out princesses. Frederic "saved" Ella/Cinderella, who is a brave, adventure loving girl who is bored by Frederic risk-free life. Snow White actually is in love with Duncan and almost as strange as he is, but she needs a little space. Rapunzel and Gustav are total opposites. Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty is also the opposite of Liam - in her case, she's the spoiled, evil princess and Liam is the wonderful, dashing prince and he wants nothing to do with her.
As you'd expect in a modern fairy tale, it's the princesses who end up rescuing the princes, who are horribly lost in the forest. Well, with the exception of Briar Rose, who wants to entrap Liam in her thorns. Liam's little sister Lila is the one who joins up with the "good" princesses to save the four guys. The story goes back and forth between the princes and the princesses. The boys are bumbling around, helping each other out, arguing with each other, nearly getting the others killed - over and over again. The resourceful girls get themselves out of dangerous situations and save the boys.
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is a delightfully fun read. Even though it's aimed at younger audiences, it has that timeless feel that will appeal to readers of all ages and likely won't feel dated in twenty years time. The plot does drag a bit at time, but the writing is so witty that I was never tempted to give up. It can be a long journey, but it's a fun one.
I listened to Hero's Guide on audio and I can't recommend that reading method enough. Bronson Pinchot is the narrator. He has a wonderful deep reading voice and perfect comedic timing. I missed seeing the book's illustrations, but I think audio is the way to go with Hero's Guide. It brought the book to life. Whatever method you choose, I highly recommend The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.
Rating: 4 / 5
I really like fairy-tale mash ups and retellings. I like taking a story that's been told so many ways and finding a new angle. Most of the time, that angle is to actually make the heroine a more active participant in her fate. Last week, I found one that did the same thing for the heroes.
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is the story of Prince Charmings. They're not actually named Charming, of course, but the bards were in such a hurry to get their stories told they didn't bother to find out the Princes' name, so they just stuck in Charming. Frederic doesn't mind being called Charming but he is a little annoyed that Ella keeps getting called Cinderella - she's not dirty or anything, she was just overworked. Frederic was raised to not seek excitement, daring, or anything that could possibly muss him in any way and is content to spend all day (well, after waking at noon and spending an hour or so getting dressed) picnicking with Ella. Ella has spent the last several years confined to her stepmother's house and doesn't find mooning around the palace to be much different. One day, she leaves a note for Frederic that she's very sorry, but she can't take it and she's off in search of adventure.
The story takes Frederic to foreign lands, where he meets up with the strong but overlooked Gustav (who was embarrassed by the story that Rapunzel saved his life), the dashing hero Liam (who is trying to avoid marriage to the bratty and dangerously tempered Briar Rose), and dim but lucky Duncan (who lives quite happily with Snow White, but wandered off one day and met these other guys) as they try to "save" Ella from an evil witch, giant and dragon.
I liked that the heroes all had their issues. They didn't get along too well in the beginning, but they really tried to work together and in the end, formed a nice team and learned something about themselves along the way.
It's a YA book and I think my 7 year old is thinking of reading it after I told him how good it was.
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is the story of Prince Charmings. They're not actually named Charming, of course, but the bards were in such a hurry to get their stories told they didn't bother to find out the Princes' name, so they just stuck in Charming. Frederic doesn't mind being called Charming but he is a little annoyed that Ella keeps getting called Cinderella - she's not dirty or anything, she was just overworked. Frederic was raised to not seek excitement, daring, or anything that could possibly muss him in any way and is content to spend all day (well, after waking at noon and spending an hour or so getting dressed) picnicking with Ella. Ella has spent the last several years confined to her stepmother's house and doesn't find mooning around the palace to be much different. One day, she leaves a note for Frederic that she's very sorry, but she can't take it and she's off in search of adventure.
The story takes Frederic to foreign lands, where he meets up with the strong but overlooked Gustav (who was embarrassed by the story that Rapunzel saved his life), the dashing hero Liam (who is trying to avoid marriage to the bratty and dangerously tempered Briar Rose), and dim but lucky Duncan (who lives quite happily with Snow White, but wandered off one day and met these other guys) as they try to "save" Ella from an evil witch, giant and dragon.
I liked that the heroes all had their issues. They didn't get along too well in the beginning, but they really tried to work together and in the end, formed a nice team and learned something about themselves along the way.
It's a YA book and I think my 7 year old is thinking of reading it after I told him how good it was.
I have reviewed this book on my blog. Please come by for a visit.
http://mrbsbookshelf.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-heros-guide-to-saving-your-kingdom.html
http://mrbsbookshelf.blogspot.com/2015/01/the-heros-guide-to-saving-your-kingdom.html
My verdict is very simple:
Thoroughly good fun. :-)
Thoroughly good fun. :-)
Hilarious, but longer than it needs to be. One could cut out an awful lots of pratfalls without doing any harm to the premise.
A little long for the 3rd & 4th grade readers it'll attract, but laugh out loud funny at times & fun fractured fairy taleS- 4 of them!
A very funny take on the princes' side of "happily ever after" and a great read. I love the personality (and names) given to our four "Prince Charming" characters. Also, a wonderful point that just because you rescued someone, they may not be your true love.
This review originally posted at More Than Just Magic
Middle Grade fantasy is absolutely fantastic. It makes me feel nostalgic for the books I read when I was younger. And honestly who doesn’t love getting lost in a fairy tale? The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is no exception. It made me feel like a kid again, it was laugh out loud funny and it reminded me a lot of classic Disney movies like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White but with a great twist.
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is really the story of four Prince Charmings (You didn’t think there was just one guy doing all the rescuing did you?) There’s Frederic – Cinderella’s prince – who is scared of everything (but an excellent negotiator!). Duncan, who broke Snow White’s sleeping spell. He’s a little dopey, but absolutely loyal and just wants to make friends with everyone and everything. Gustav, who rescued Rapunzel without realizing what he was getting into – which is the story of his life! And Liam. The only real “hero” of the bunch, who is unfortunately expected to marry the absolutely nasty Briar Rose. Seriously, move over Regina George. You have been de-throned.
I loved this book because all four of them – except maybe Liam – weren’t quite the Prince Charmings you generally think of. Fairy Tales are often all about the girls, and even most retellings focus on the female characters as well. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was a nice twist because it let the men develop more as characters. No longer cursed to simply swoop in at the end, looking handsome and expected to solve all the problems with a dashing smile and love’s first kiss. And this is all accomplished without sacrificing the strength of the female characters. It’s win-win!
I also loved that, contray to a lot of fairy tales, The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was not about the romance! Yes Snow White and Duncan have a lovely relationship but the rest not so much. Each one is their own person and chasing their own dream. Cinderella wants adventure, Rapunzel wants to help people, Frederic wants to face his fears etc etc. Their destiny’s aren’t wrapped up in simply being with another person and I thought that was a more realistic portrayal.
Recommendation: The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is a delightful return to the fairy tales I grew up with but it makes this return without sacrificing strong characters or realistic goals. Basically it’s the whole package. Recommended for middle grade readers and those who grew up watching their Disney VHS’s over and over.
Middle Grade fantasy is absolutely fantastic. It makes me feel nostalgic for the books I read when I was younger. And honestly who doesn’t love getting lost in a fairy tale? The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is no exception. It made me feel like a kid again, it was laugh out loud funny and it reminded me a lot of classic Disney movies like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White but with a great twist.
The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is really the story of four Prince Charmings (You didn’t think there was just one guy doing all the rescuing did you?) There’s Frederic – Cinderella’s prince – who is scared of everything (but an excellent negotiator!). Duncan, who broke Snow White’s sleeping spell. He’s a little dopey, but absolutely loyal and just wants to make friends with everyone and everything. Gustav, who rescued Rapunzel without realizing what he was getting into – which is the story of his life! And Liam. The only real “hero” of the bunch, who is unfortunately expected to marry the absolutely nasty Briar Rose. Seriously, move over Regina George. You have been de-throned.
I loved this book because all four of them – except maybe Liam – weren’t quite the Prince Charmings you generally think of. Fairy Tales are often all about the girls, and even most retellings focus on the female characters as well. The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was a nice twist because it let the men develop more as characters. No longer cursed to simply swoop in at the end, looking handsome and expected to solve all the problems with a dashing smile and love’s first kiss. And this is all accomplished without sacrificing the strength of the female characters. It’s win-win!
I also loved that, contray to a lot of fairy tales, The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom was not about the romance! Yes Snow White and Duncan have a lovely relationship but the rest not so much. Each one is their own person and chasing their own dream. Cinderella wants adventure, Rapunzel wants to help people, Frederic wants to face his fears etc etc. Their destiny’s aren’t wrapped up in simply being with another person and I thought that was a more realistic portrayal.
Recommendation: The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is a delightful return to the fairy tales I grew up with but it makes this return without sacrificing strong characters or realistic goals. Basically it’s the whole package. Recommended for middle grade readers and those who grew up watching their Disney VHS’s over and over.