Fables&Wren

The Princess Tales #03: Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep

/ 03 STARS, GCL YR THE PRINCESS TALES

Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep Book Cover Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep
The Princess Tales
Gail Carson Levine
Juvenile Fiction
Harper Collins
September 8, 1999
Paperback
112

A spiteful fairy. A beautiful princess. An outstretched finger. A spindle. A hundred-year snooze. A charming prince. A kiss. All the familiar ingredients. But wait! Where did that extra prince come from? And those fairy gifts that were never there before? And what does a flock of balding sheep have to do with anything? Gail Carson Levine has waved her magic wand over the old standby of "Sleeping Beauty" and presto! It reappears, transformed, sparkling and hilarious. Chuckles and giggles are guaranteed.

WrensReads Review:

Do you like retelling of fairy-tales? Gail Carson Levine is the author for you. She is witty, and pokes fun at fairy-tales all the while making you love the story even more.

“What a hideous baby, the fairy Arabella thought. She said, “my gift to Sonora is beauty.” She touched the baby’s yellow squooshed-up face with her wand.”
– Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep by Gail Carson Levine

Just by the first page, you can grasp the humor Levine puts in her words. Her use of run-on sentences leaves you out of breath and laughing from the repetitiveness.

In Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, a retelling of a French fairy tale called Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault (or “The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood”) or German fairy tale called Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm, a little girl named Sonora is given gifts by multiple fairies. Some of those gifts include beauty, gracefulness, good health, intelligence, brilliance (same thing? Hmm) and last… but not least… pricking herself with a spindle and dying!

The one-month old baby Sonora talks a fairy (yes, talks!) into making the whole town fall asleep with her when the time comes… when will that time be? Aurora decided then and there that she would pick the perfect time for it to happen.

She was so smart that it bothered everyone she came in contact with. I mean, wouldn’t you hate a small little girl telling you how to do your job more efficiently? I know I would.

The King and Queen have arranged a marriage to a Prince! Sonora didn’t think she liked him though…he was very boring. She will wait till he leaves to prick herself so she didn’t have to marry him.

Wait? What’s that? Her mother is running around the corner with a spindle yelling treason? What will happen? Will Sonora prick her finger just in time or time too soon or time too late? Will she marry the Prince? Will he sleep too? Will Sonora get the ending she wants?

Levine has a splash of humor you will not find anyone else. Using plays on words and awkward humor, this is perfect for a story for a young girl or for a grown woman who can’t get enough of fairy-tales (cough me). I will always be a fan of Levine’s writing.

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The Princess Tales #02: The Princess Test

/ 04 STARS, GCL YR THE PRINCESS TALES

The Princess Test Book Cover The Princess Test
The Princess Tales
Gail Carson Levine
Juvenile Fiction
Harper Collins
March 21, 1999
Paperback
96

Gail Carson Levine charmed the world with Ella Enchanted, her spirited retelling of the Cinderella story. Now this award-winning author turns her attention to two more classic fairy tales, and deftly turns them upside down and inside out with her trademark wit and hilarity. In The Fairy's Mistake, two very different sisters have two very different encounters with the fairy Ethelinda. Rosella is kind and helpful. Her reward: Jewels and gems tumble out of her mouth whenever she speaks. Myrtle is rude and spiteful. Her punishment: Bugs and vipers slither out of her mouth. The fairy Ethelinda feels she's meted out justice just right--until she discovers Rosella has been locked up by a greedy prince and Myrtle is having the time of her life! In The Princess Test, King Humphrey has decided its time for his son, Prince Nicholas, to marry. But he must make sure the bride is a real princess. So he devises a series of princess tests, designed to weed out the phonies and the fakes. Meanwhile, Nicholas has fallen in love with Lorelei, a mere blacksmith's daughter. She's no princess, but he wants to marry her all the same--but how will she ever pass the terrible tests? In these first two delightfully entertaining, laugh-out-loud Princess Tales, Gail Levine gently spoofs the notion that fairies are always right and that tests can never prove a persons worth, but holds fast to the notion that true love will always win in the end.

WrensReads Review:

Do you like retelling of fairy-tales? Gail Carson Levine is the author for you. She is witty, and pokes fun at fairy-tales all the while making you love the story even more.

“She cried when her porridge was too hot or too cold or too salty or too bitter or too sweet. She cried when her bathwater was too hot or too cold or too wet or not wet enough.”
– The Princess Test by Gail Carson Levine

Just by the first page, you can grasp the humor Levine puts in her words. Her use of run-on sentences leaves you out of breath and laughing from the repetitiveness.

In The Princess Test, a retelling of a Danish fairy tale called The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen (or “The Princess on the Peas”) a little girl named Lorelei has a humble heart and is kind to anyone and everyone she meets. The problem is that even though she wants to help and wants to contribute to the household chores, she always ends up hurt in one way or another.

The nanny her father hired does not like Lorelei because she is so lazy! She can’t do anything without getting hurt! She wants to “do her off..”

Prince Nicholas has two parents that never agree on anything. If one thinks it’s too salty, the other thinks it’s too sweet. The king and queen come up with a test that maidens will undertake who want to marry Nicholas. Lorelei, after some unfortunate events, becomes an applicant…

What will happen? Will Nicholas and Lorelei end up together? Will Lorelei end up accidentally hurt herself beyond repair? What exactly are the test and why are they so ridiculous but so true?

Levine has a splash of humor you will not find anyone else. Using plays on words and awkward humor, this is perfect for a story for a young girl or for a grown woman who can’t get enough of fairy-tales (cough me), as long as the scary nanny’s thoughts don’t run you off. I will always be a fan of Levine’s writing.

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The Princess Tales #01: The Fairy’s Mistake

/ 04 STARS, GCL YR THE PRINCESS TALES

The Fairy's Mistake Book Cover The Fairy's Mistake
The Princess Tales
Gail Carson Levine
Juvenile Fiction
Harper Collins
March 21, 1999
Paperback
96

Gail Carson Levine charmed the world with Ella Enchanted, her spirited retelling of the Cinderella story. Now this award-winning author turns her attention to two more classic fairy tales, and deftly turns them upside down and inside out with her trademark wit and hilarity. In The Fairy's Mistake, two very different sisters have two very different encounters with the fairy Ethelinda. Rosella is kind and helpful. Her reward: Jewels and gems tumble out of her mouth whenever she speaks. Myrtle is rude and spiteful. Her punishment: Bugs and vipers slither out of her mouth. The fairy Ethelinda feels she's meted out justice just right--until she discovers Rosella has been locked up by a greedy prince and Myrtle is having the time of her life! In The Princess Test, King Humphrey has decided it's time for his son, Prince Nicholas, to marry. But he must make sure the bride is a real princess. So he devises a series of princess tests, designed to weed out the phonies and the fakes. Meanwhile, Nicholas has fallen in love with Lorelei, a mere blacksmith's daughter. She's no princess, but he wants to marry her all the same--but how will she ever pass the terrible tests? In these first two delightfully entertaining, laugh-out-loud Princess Tales, Gail Levine gently spoofs the notion that fairies are always right and that tests can ever prove a person's worth, but holds fast to the notion that true love will always win in the end.

WrensReads Review:

Do you like retelling of fairytales? Gail Carson Levine is the author for you. She is witty, and pokes fun at fairytales all the while making you love the story even more.

“Once upon a time, in the village of Snettering-on-Snoakes in the kingdom of Biddle, Rosella fetched water from the well for the four thousand and eighty-eighth time.”
– The Fairy’s Mistake by Gail Carson Levine

Just by the first paragraph, you can grasp the humor Levine puts in her words.

In The Fairy’s Mistake, a retelling of a French fairy tale called Toads and Diamonds by Charles Perrault (titled “Les Fées,” or “The Fairies”), two twin sisters are cursed (or gifted?) with two completely different things. Let’s rephrase that: one sister is bestowed a curse and the other a gift, though which is which is yet to be determined.

Oh a prince! Being so humble and pleasant as he is realizes his love for a lady he just met! Oh, and she happens to have something he wants. Coincidence I am sure.

One sister uses what the fairy gave her for helping others, and the other uses it to gain control over people.

Will the sister with the curse live happily ever after? Will the other sister with the gift live happily ever after? Will the fairy ever learn that things don’t always happen the way she wants them to?

I have a soft spot for fairy tales and that is exactly up Levine’s alley. She is a spectacular writer and story teller. She will make you laugh out loud with her classic retelling. I recommend this book, and the rest of her books, to anyone that loves a good fairytale.

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