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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
Such a fun book! I loved the twist on the classic stories of the princesses and princes, especially how not every princess was nice and kind. It was especially more fun listening to the audiobook!
Funny and clever! I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series and I know a few kids who I will have to recommend this to. Perfect for fans of fairy tales!
I really liked it, the humor was done very well. the self awareness of the book completely made up for the ridiculous coincidences. but the confidences are what you would read this book for, just to see how silly and amusing it can get. the relationships and interaction between characters is good too most of them have better arcs than a lot of novels I've read
Children's fiction.
Cute story about the four "Prince Charmings" (Frederic, Duncan, Liam and Gustav) and how they hate being lumped into a nameless group and, in fact, are not all that charming to begin with. They meet up by accident and end up becoming real heroes while attempting to save (Cinder) Ella. I also enjoyed the illustrations.
Cute story about the four "Prince Charmings" (Frederic, Duncan, Liam and Gustav) and how they hate being lumped into a nameless group and, in fact, are not all that charming to begin with. They meet up by accident and end up becoming real heroes while attempting to save (Cinder) Ella. I also enjoyed the illustrations.
Why are all the fairy tales about the girls? Why do all the fairy tale heroines seem to end up with Prince Charming? If you believe The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, it’s all the fault of the lazy bards who wrote the songs. They couldn’t be bothered to get the names of the heroes straight; they just called them all “Prince Charming.”
In The Hero’s Guide, we meet Gustav, Duncan, Frederic, and Liam – the princes of Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, respectively. They are not exactly “charming,” at least not all of them. (But then, the four princesses are not all we’ve been led to believe in fairy tales either.) Each prince starts off on his own, with his own troubles to deal with, before eventually running into all the others and forming a league of princes. They don’t like each other very much at first, but as they spend time together – fighting monsters, planning rescues, getting captured by and then escaping from bandits - they learn to appreciate the individual strengths that each prince has.
The Hero’s Guide is funny and smart. (“Here we are, the four Princes Charming. All together in one place!” says Duncan. “Prince Charmings,” Gustav counters. “No, Princes Charming,” Duncan corrects. “‘Prince’ is the noun; that’s what gets pluralized. ‘Charming’ is an adjective; you can’t add an S to it like that.” “It sounds stupid,” Gustav replies.)
I read an advance copy of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. The book jacket says it’s for grades 3-7. I’m an adult no longer classified by my school grade, and I found the book entertaining and charming (yes, pun intended). If you like new angles on old tales, you may enjoy this book. The ending hints at sequels, to cover further lessons on becoming a hero and to resolve some unresolved romance issues, and I look forward to more adventures with the league of princes.
In The Hero’s Guide, we meet Gustav, Duncan, Frederic, and Liam – the princes of Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty, respectively. They are not exactly “charming,” at least not all of them. (But then, the four princesses are not all we’ve been led to believe in fairy tales either.) Each prince starts off on his own, with his own troubles to deal with, before eventually running into all the others and forming a league of princes. They don’t like each other very much at first, but as they spend time together – fighting monsters, planning rescues, getting captured by and then escaping from bandits - they learn to appreciate the individual strengths that each prince has.
The Hero’s Guide is funny and smart. (“Here we are, the four Princes Charming. All together in one place!” says Duncan. “Prince Charmings,” Gustav counters. “No, Princes Charming,” Duncan corrects. “‘Prince’ is the noun; that’s what gets pluralized. ‘Charming’ is an adjective; you can’t add an S to it like that.” “It sounds stupid,” Gustav replies.)
I read an advance copy of The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. The book jacket says it’s for grades 3-7. I’m an adult no longer classified by my school grade, and I found the book entertaining and charming (yes, pun intended). If you like new angles on old tales, you may enjoy this book. The ending hints at sequels, to cover further lessons on becoming a hero and to resolve some unresolved romance issues, and I look forward to more adventures with the league of princes.
I REALLY enjoyed this. I'll definitely be checking out the sequels.
Despite the hero-type things done by the Princes Charming, I loved the princesses who are perfectly capable of taking charge - very funny fractured fairy tale!
Originally reviewed on RED Book Reviews.
Grade: To Own
Story: Frederic the dandy, Gustav the gruff, Liam the heroic, and Duncan the insane. Four princes from neighbouring kingdoms all manage to lose their princesses somehow, and as they set out to rescue/run away from them, they somehow stumble into each other and also an evil plot. And then there's chaos! And dragons! And evil child ruffians! And unlikely friendships! And multiple sets of octuplets! Plus, of course, plenty of battles and fights and squabbles and arguments and daring rescues and ungainly captures and adventure.
Thoughts: This was one of the most delightful books I've read in ages.
I'm going to quote the first two paragraphs for you. Because they captured well the feeling of the book, and they're funny.
"Prince Charming is afraid of old ladies. Didn't know that, did you?
"Don't worry. There's a lot you don't know about Prince Charming: Prince Charming has no idea how to use a sword; Prince Charming has no patience for dwarfs; Prince Charming has an irrational hatred of capes."
And it goes on. It's funny and clever and fully of great characters. It has a good ending, with the possibility for a sequel. What more could you ask?
And the chapter titles!
From "Prince Charming Defends Some Vegetables" to "Prince Charming is Completely Unnecessary" to "Prince Charming Has No Idea What's Going On". They remind me of the awesome chapter titles in the Percy Jackson series--they perfectly encapsulate the chapter without giving away anything, and are funny as anything to boot.
And the illustrations!
I wouldn't like this book half so much if it weren't for the illustrations. They capture the characters perfectly. It reminds me of the importance that illustrations have in the Lemony Snicket books, except I actually like the style of these drawings.
But I am still slightly torn about this grading. As awesome as it was, it wasn't perfect. I'm just not sure how to describe the main criticism I have. It's something about the writing style, though. I once heard a friend of mine (CJ, I think) talk about a book she was reading that she didn't quite like. She said it was great and really well done, but it somehow reminded her too much of her own writing, except more professionally done. This book had that feeling somehow. The writing was too much like something I would have written, and thus something I would have criticized a lot and not liked all that much. It's something like that, at least. Again, I'm not totally sure how to describe this. But whatever it is, it kept pulling me out of the book.
Plus, as much as I hate to say this, I think it was a little too long--just a tiny bit! It could have skipped some bits and been a bit tighter, that's all. (Especially near the end of the middle, sometime after the famed Chapter 20.)
But I'm sticking with "To Own": because a) I actually already own it (a rare thing with me, to buy a book without having read it); b) I LOVE groups of unique characters saving the world together; c) I've haven't had a "To Own" grading in a while, and I may as well have one now.
Grade: To Own
Story: Frederic the dandy, Gustav the gruff, Liam the heroic, and Duncan the insane. Four princes from neighbouring kingdoms all manage to lose their princesses somehow, and as they set out to rescue/run away from them, they somehow stumble into each other and also an evil plot. And then there's chaos! And dragons! And evil child ruffians! And unlikely friendships! And multiple sets of octuplets! Plus, of course, plenty of battles and fights and squabbles and arguments and daring rescues and ungainly captures and adventure.
Thoughts: This was one of the most delightful books I've read in ages.
I'm going to quote the first two paragraphs for you. Because they captured well the feeling of the book, and they're funny.
"Prince Charming is afraid of old ladies. Didn't know that, did you?
"Don't worry. There's a lot you don't know about Prince Charming: Prince Charming has no idea how to use a sword; Prince Charming has no patience for dwarfs; Prince Charming has an irrational hatred of capes."
And it goes on. It's funny and clever and fully of great characters. It has a good ending, with the possibility for a sequel. What more could you ask?
And the chapter titles!
From "Prince Charming Defends Some Vegetables" to "Prince Charming is Completely Unnecessary" to "Prince Charming Has No Idea What's Going On". They remind me of the awesome chapter titles in the Percy Jackson series--they perfectly encapsulate the chapter without giving away anything, and are funny as anything to boot.
And the illustrations!
I wouldn't like this book half so much if it weren't for the illustrations. They capture the characters perfectly. It reminds me of the importance that illustrations have in the Lemony Snicket books, except I actually like the style of these drawings.
But I am still slightly torn about this grading. As awesome as it was, it wasn't perfect. I'm just not sure how to describe the main criticism I have. It's something about the writing style, though. I once heard a friend of mine (CJ, I think) talk about a book she was reading that she didn't quite like. She said it was great and really well done, but it somehow reminded her too much of her own writing, except more professionally done. This book had that feeling somehow. The writing was too much like something I would have written, and thus something I would have criticized a lot and not liked all that much. It's something like that, at least. Again, I'm not totally sure how to describe this. But whatever it is, it kept pulling me out of the book.
Plus, as much as I hate to say this, I think it was a little too long--just a tiny bit! It could have skipped some bits and been a bit tighter, that's all. (Especially near the end of the middle, sometime after the famed Chapter 20.)
But I'm sticking with "To Own": because a) I actually already own it (a rare thing with me, to buy a book without having read it); b) I LOVE groups of unique characters saving the world together; c) I've haven't had a "To Own" grading in a while, and I may as well have one now.
Since when did fairytales become the realm of the girly? I blame Disney. Back in the days of Grimm your average everyday fairytale might contain princesses and pretty gowns and all that jazz, but it was also just as likely to offer its own fair share of dragons and murderers and goblins as well. Once the Disney company realized that princesses were magnificent moneymakers, gone was the gore and the elements that might make those stories appealing to the boy set. If you actually sat down and watched the films you'd see plenty of princes fighting beasts (or fighting beast princes) but the very idea of "Sleeping Beauty" or "Snow White" or any of those films has taken on a semi-sweet and sickly vibe. By the same token, it's hard to find fractured fairytale children's novels that can be loved just as much by boys as by girls. The great equalizer of all things is, to my mind, humor. Make something funny and gender is rendered irrelevant. There are certainly a fair number of funny fairytale-type stories out there, but to my mind none are quite so delightful and hilarious as Christopher Healy's newest series. Starting with The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (and followed by [b:The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle|16065489|The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle|Christopher Healy|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1354200351s/16065489.jpg|21856130]), Healy takes that most maligned of all fairytale characters and finally gives "him" a voice. You heard right. Prince Charming is finally getting his due.
Meet Princes Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav. If their names don't ring a bell with you, don't be too surprised. Known better by their pseudonym "Prince Charming" the princes are a bit peeved at the lousy P.R. their adventures have garnered. The bards have found that their stories tell better when the girls get all the credit (and actual names) and it isn't just the princes that are peeved. A local witch is more than a little upset, and that anger may have something to do with the slow disappearance of the bards themselves. Now it's up to our four heroes, brought together through the strangest of circumstances, to band together to defeat an evil witch, strike down a giant or two, outwit bandits, and generally find a way to make their faults into strengths.
I take a gander at debut author Christopher Healy's credentials and I am oddly pleased. A reviewer of children's books and media he has written for Cookie, iVillage, Parenting, Time Out New York Kids, and Real Simple Family. In short, he's from the parenting sphere. Clearly he's taken what he's learned and applied it here because it's his wordplay that stands out. For example, he might list the jobs Cinderella has to perform as using "every waking hour performing onerous tasks, like scrubbing grout or chipping congealed mayonnaise from between fork tines." By the same token, the sneaky sidenote is a delicate beast. It requires of the author a bit of finesse. Go too far as a writer for children and you end up amusing only the adults who happen to pick up your book. With this in mind, Healy is a sneaky sidenote master. He'll give away a detail about the future and then say, "Oops, sorry about that. I probably should have said, `Spoiler alert'." That's 21st century foreshadowing for you. Or he might sneak in a Groucho Marx reference like "Captain Spaulding" once in a while, but it works within the context of the story (and amuses reviewers like myself in the meantime). Or he'll mention that part of the witch's plan is shooting bears at people out of cannons. It's hard not appreciate a mind that comes up with that kind of thing.
In his New York Times review of the book Adam Gopnik took issue with the sheer enjoyment one can have with the book, going so far as to say, "Each page offers something to laugh at, but it can be an effort to turn each page." His objections were steeped in the world building happening here, unfavorably comparing it to [b:The Princess Bride|21787|The Princess Bride |William Goldman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327903636s/21787.jpg|992628] (an unfair comparison if ever there was one) and even shooting quite low when he dared to invoke the name of the Shrek films. Oog. The fact of the matter is that if you're looking for deep insightful probes into the human psyche, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a perfectly fun story that meanders a bit but always stays on its feet, here's your book. The princes are broad portraits, stereotypes that break out of their chosen roles, if reluctantly. They are also fellows you would follow from book to book to book. They have on-page chemistry (my wordier version of on-screen chemistry). You believe in these guys and you want them to succeed and not get beaten up too badly. It's a fun and funny book and though it won't win huge children's literature awards it will be adored by its readership and discussed at length on the playgrounds of this good great nation. And that is just fine and dandy with me.
Considering how many contemporary updates to fairytales there are in pop culture right now (Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Snow White & The Huntsman, etc.) it's strange to me that I can't think of a book to quite compare with this one. A book that takes standard fairytales and familiar characters, renders them unfamiliar but human, and then loads the storyline up with bucketfuls of humor. I mean, books like A Tale Dark and Grimm and [b:In a Glass Grimmly|13513080|In A Glass Grimmly (A Tale Dark & Grimm #2)|Adam Gidwitz|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334602142s/13513080.jpg|19068295] are newfound looks at old standards but they haven't the light bouncy breezy quality of Healy's work. These are fairytales for folks who love Disney, hate Disney, love fractured fairytales, love the original fairytales, and/or just like a good story in general. It's perfect bedtime fare and ideal for those kids who want something amusing to read on their own. You know when a kid walks up to you and says they want a "funny" book? This is for them as well. Basically it's for everyone, fantasy fans and fantasy haters alike. If ever you feel sick of the sheer seriousness of some fantasies (*cough* [b:Eragon|113436|Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, #1)|Christopher Paolini|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1293505063s/113436.jpg|3178011] *cough*), this is a book for you too. Put it on your To Read list and pronto.
For ages 8-12.
Meet Princes Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav. If their names don't ring a bell with you, don't be too surprised. Known better by their pseudonym "Prince Charming" the princes are a bit peeved at the lousy P.R. their adventures have garnered. The bards have found that their stories tell better when the girls get all the credit (and actual names) and it isn't just the princes that are peeved. A local witch is more than a little upset, and that anger may have something to do with the slow disappearance of the bards themselves. Now it's up to our four heroes, brought together through the strangest of circumstances, to band together to defeat an evil witch, strike down a giant or two, outwit bandits, and generally find a way to make their faults into strengths.
I take a gander at debut author Christopher Healy's credentials and I am oddly pleased. A reviewer of children's books and media he has written for Cookie, iVillage, Parenting, Time Out New York Kids, and Real Simple Family. In short, he's from the parenting sphere. Clearly he's taken what he's learned and applied it here because it's his wordplay that stands out. For example, he might list the jobs Cinderella has to perform as using "every waking hour performing onerous tasks, like scrubbing grout or chipping congealed mayonnaise from between fork tines." By the same token, the sneaky sidenote is a delicate beast. It requires of the author a bit of finesse. Go too far as a writer for children and you end up amusing only the adults who happen to pick up your book. With this in mind, Healy is a sneaky sidenote master. He'll give away a detail about the future and then say, "Oops, sorry about that. I probably should have said, `Spoiler alert'." That's 21st century foreshadowing for you. Or he might sneak in a Groucho Marx reference like "Captain Spaulding" once in a while, but it works within the context of the story (and amuses reviewers like myself in the meantime). Or he'll mention that part of the witch's plan is shooting bears at people out of cannons. It's hard not appreciate a mind that comes up with that kind of thing.
In his New York Times review of the book Adam Gopnik took issue with the sheer enjoyment one can have with the book, going so far as to say, "Each page offers something to laugh at, but it can be an effort to turn each page." His objections were steeped in the world building happening here, unfavorably comparing it to [b:The Princess Bride|21787|The Princess Bride |William Goldman|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327903636s/21787.jpg|992628] (an unfair comparison if ever there was one) and even shooting quite low when he dared to invoke the name of the Shrek films. Oog. The fact of the matter is that if you're looking for deep insightful probes into the human psyche, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a perfectly fun story that meanders a bit but always stays on its feet, here's your book. The princes are broad portraits, stereotypes that break out of their chosen roles, if reluctantly. They are also fellows you would follow from book to book to book. They have on-page chemistry (my wordier version of on-screen chemistry). You believe in these guys and you want them to succeed and not get beaten up too badly. It's a fun and funny book and though it won't win huge children's literature awards it will be adored by its readership and discussed at length on the playgrounds of this good great nation. And that is just fine and dandy with me.
Considering how many contemporary updates to fairytales there are in pop culture right now (Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Snow White & The Huntsman, etc.) it's strange to me that I can't think of a book to quite compare with this one. A book that takes standard fairytales and familiar characters, renders them unfamiliar but human, and then loads the storyline up with bucketfuls of humor. I mean, books like A Tale Dark and Grimm and [b:In a Glass Grimmly|13513080|In A Glass Grimmly (A Tale Dark & Grimm #2)|Adam Gidwitz|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1334602142s/13513080.jpg|19068295] are newfound looks at old standards but they haven't the light bouncy breezy quality of Healy's work. These are fairytales for folks who love Disney, hate Disney, love fractured fairytales, love the original fairytales, and/or just like a good story in general. It's perfect bedtime fare and ideal for those kids who want something amusing to read on their own. You know when a kid walks up to you and says they want a "funny" book? This is for them as well. Basically it's for everyone, fantasy fans and fantasy haters alike. If ever you feel sick of the sheer seriousness of some fantasies (*cough* [b:Eragon|113436|Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle, #1)|Christopher Paolini|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1293505063s/113436.jpg|3178011] *cough*), this is a book for you too. Put it on your To Read list and pronto.
For ages 8-12.