Tony Wilson (1)

I always hated that whiny princess in Hans Christian Andersen's The Princess and the Pea. What kind of guest complains about her bed when she's been rescued from a terrible storm?

This version is a breath of fresh air. DeGennaro's breezy sketches are charmingly done, and I love the font--each character's name is in a different type. Wilson's Prince Henrik is looking for a tough, uncomplaining kind of girl, and he finds her in a satisfyingly fractured-tale way. Two thumbs up.

Liked this one the best out of the four in the series that I read. The kids of Monvale PS don't have their own oval - they play on one across the road. After sport one day, the PE teacher lets them play there during recess after their PE session finishes. Unfortunately, he takes all the soccer balls with him when he leaves so the boys have to come up with their own game. Jack invents one where they have to untie their shoes and see how far they can kick the shoe from their foot! The loser is show more chased and tackled to the ground with a "stacks on" by all the other players. Unfortunately for Jack, in the second game, he is the loser and after being tackled by Fadi, a fast Samoan kid in his class, the "stacks on" results in a broken arm.
Jack would not be worried about this except it means that the he won't be able to play in the match with the Grade A Soccer players who are coming next week! On top of this, Jack and his mates, not wanting to get into trouble for playing "stacks on" , put all the blame on Fadi for the broken arm. When Jack sees how this effects Fadi he feels terrible and, even though it may mean he misses the clinic run by the soccer players, Jack decides to come clean to the Principal.
Loved this book for its moral message - the truth is always best , no matter the cost and for the culturally diverse picture it paints of Australian schools. I also loved that the author chose to reward the kids for their honesty - Jack and his friends still participate in the clinic and Fadi stars . (Jack referees with his broken arm.) Lovely story for boys about standing up for your mates. show less

This story is about a prince that wanted to find princess that was a real princess, the anti-princess, if you will. He wasn't looking for the most beautiful girl, but a girl he had something in common with, a girl he could have fun with, and a girl that didn't complain ALL the time. While in search for his (anti)princess, he found her in the most "unlikeliest" of places :-)
I think this book points out that the idea of what we should and think will make us happy is want isn't always what show more will.

This is a great book for showing children that we don't always have to like or want the same things as everyone else. show less

This fractured fairy tale spins 'The Princess and the Pea' on its head. The prince only wants to find a girl who loves hockey and camping and so instead of finding the princess who complains about everything like his brother, he wants to find someone who doesn't complain about anything! This proves to be harder than he imagined but when Pippa, an old friend, comes to visit the Prince may have found his match. The illustrations aid in the storytelling and this will be a lively read for those show more PreK+ who enjoy a more realistic (for the princess world at least) happy ever after. show less