Irene Trimble

Once there was an ancient kingdom ruled by a much loved king and queen. The king was a large and fierce man who had fought the great bear Mordu and lost a leg in the struggle. But that did not stop him from his bear hunts and for this he became known as the Bear King. The queen was a knowledgeable and beautiful lady who felt it her duty to pass on all she knew to her daughter Merida, the princess.

As a princess, Merida had many duties, responsibilities and expectations heaped upon her, but it show more was her mother, the queen who pushed her to be perfect. Merida knew she could not live up to her mothers ideals and struggled to make her mother understand that she was not like her, that she would never be like her, but her mother, the queen refused to listen. So Merida took drastic action resulting in her mother becoming a bear, a dangerous thing when your father is the Bear King.

Brave, the book of the film, is not your typical Disney princess story. There is no handsome prince rushing to the rescue of a princess in distress. There is only a princess who through selfish actions creates a rift in her kingdom, not to mention turns her mother into a bear, and must stand alone to set things right, saving her kingdom from war and her mother from death.

Those who have watched the movie may note the numerous though minor changes that are present throughout the dialogue and the action within this novel. However despite this distraction, this is a heartfelt, humorous and entertaining tale to enjoy on its own or as an accompaniment to the movie. show less

A short illustration book about Merida and Angus the horse. Merida and Angus are best friends and Merida decides one day that it was too beautiful a day to spend in the castle and sets off to find Angus for a ride. While out, they both travel into a dark forest and as they decide that the forest is too dark and scary, Angus is sppoked by the shadows and takes off. Merida sees a cliff looming as Angus is running in fear and tells him that he'll have to jump to the other side as he is going show more too fast to stop. Following a successful jump, they both return to the castle. Cute illustrations and good for young, beginning readers. This book would be good for readers who are familiar with this movie or enjoy horses, but not a good book for a read-aloud or to enrich a lesson. show less

This book was great because you were able to understand things that you might not have seen in the movie. The language is really easy and I would recommend this book to children.

This is a fairytale book about a princess who has a horse named Angus. Her horse is her best friend. They went on an adventure in the woods and got lost. They had to face a lot of fears together including jumping over a ravine. This is a story about friendship and conquering fears. This is a great book for young children. This book could be used with patients who are scared and fearful and trying to be brave. They would resonate with Merida and her horse.