Princess Furball

Author Charlotte Huck and illustrator Anita Lobel retell the English fairy-tale of Princess Furball—a variant of the Cinderella tale type—in this gorgeous picture book. Orphaned at a young age, our princess heroine is raised by her nurse, and gains many important skills through her education, both practical and intellectual. When her father betroths her to an ogre, she comes up with a variety of impossible tasks—demanding dresses as golden as the sun, as silvery as the moon and as glittering as the stars, as well as a fur coat made from a thousand different furs—to delay this horrific event. When these demands are met, she runs away, eventually ending up a lowly kitchen maid in another king's palace. Here, by attending three show more balls in her gorgeous dresses, and by cooking delicious soups in which she leaves golden items, Princess Furball enchants and intrigues the king, who eventually seeks her out...

As Huck notes in her brief introductory note, the story in Princess Furball is quite similar to the English story of Catskin, as well as the Brothers Grimm tale, Many Furs. I am not familiar with any individual retelling of the former, although it can be found in collections, such as Joseph Jacobs' 1893 More English Fairy Tales. As for the latter, it can be found in collections of Grimm tales, as well as in Jacquelyn Ilya Sage's picture book, Many Furs. Unlike the Grimm tale, here there is no theme of incest (thankfully), but rather an unwanted bridegroom, and a clever princess who finds a way to evade a terrible fate. I enjoyed this retelling quite a bit, and also enjoyed the accompanying artwork, done in watercolor and gouache, from Anita Lobel. This pair would go on to collaborate on another folkloric picture book, Toads and Diamonds, which I also great enjoyed. Recommended to young folk and fairy-tale lovers, or to readers looking for less famous variants of the Cinderella story. show less

This is a fairy tale of the type "Persecuted Heroine". Now, of course, the most popular fairy tale of that type is Cinderella, but to call this story a variation on Cinderella is like calling English a variation on Dutch! They have the same theme, maybe even the same origin, but one is not a version of the other.

In this story, the girl isn't persecuted at home, she runs from it to avoid a bad marriage. She isn't saved by her fairy godmother, but by her cleverness and good home cooking. And nobody gets married based upon their shoe size. In short, it is a bit more... realistic than the more popular story you may have heard.

I had this book when I was little and then sometime later I lost track of it... sometimes I wish I still had it because I LOVED the illustrations of this book.

The story itself is also memorable. A couple of parts remind me of Cinderella, but this story is very unique and fun, so it's not some boring rehash of something else. The illustrations really are fun to look at, and the story is well-written and paced.

I enjoyed the book Princess Furball as it had an interesting twist on the classic "Cinderella" story. I thought that the book gave a well-rounded perspective on the fairy tale aspect of the story. I liked the idea of having a princess run away from home and still participate in the basic plot of Cinderella while still being a princess under the Kings ignorance. I also enjoyed that they gave the princess an opportunity to participate in "commoner" chores. As a princess she would not have to delve into such matters, but in order to keep the facade that she was a "commoner", she had to step outside of her normal world into an unknown one. I thought that this story shared a good message to young children that we should always stay true to show more who we are but be willing to step outside of ourselves and try new things. show less

I came across this book as I was doing my fall purge of my bookshelf. I had forgotten the novel approach to such a classic story. My mother had given me this book when I was younger for Christmas. I really enjoyed the book as it was a different approach. The main theme of the book is that you are the driving force of your own destiny.

After running away to avoid her father marrying her off to an ogre, she stumbles into the kitchen of a castle. I like the characters of the book. For example, I like how the step sisters are not the antagonists of the story. This makes Princess Furball a different kind of Cinderella. She goes off when she is not happy about her arranged marriage. Despite being a wealthy princess, she works in a kitchen and show more finds ways to come across the prince. I like her because she does not expect things to happen on their own.

I also like the illustrations. They are really detailed, for example, the fur coat that Princess Furball is very detailed; as are the dresses she brings. I also love the kitchen scenes, as they are much more lively than I am used to in most Cinderella depictions. The details aid in the story development, for example depicting animals and small details. A book I consider noteworthy. show less

I really enjoyed this book because it is such a common tale told in a way I've never heard before. Princess Furball happens to find her way into the castle of the prince as a helper in the kitchen. She leaves little trinkets in his food and he discovers her. This would be a great book to share with young children to introduce different cultural affects on the same story as well as the history of a popular tale.

This is one variation of the Cinderella story. It is about a King who tries to force his Princess to marry an ogre. In this book, the heroine(the princess) doesn't rely on a fairy godmother to help her, but she plans ahead and helps herself instead. The story ends with her eventually marrying her King. It is actually based on "The Princess in Disguise."