The Birthday Ball

Lois Lowry is best known for her book The Giver-a dystopian YA novel about the roles we give each other and the complexities of human interaction. The Birthday Ball is nothing like The Giver.

Luckily, I agreed to review this novel because I was looking for a quick escape. Well…I not only got a good, fun read, but Lois Lowry took everything that I thought I knew about her writing style and changed it. For The Birthday Ball Lowry added numerous tricks to her resume. She added images to her story-scratchy drawings that just hint at the character’s appearance. She focused on satire, following in Shrek’s footsteps for its mockery of traditional fairy tales. And she wrote a novel that was written for a different audience than The Giver. show more The Birthday Ball is, in my opinion, primarily for young girls whereas The Giver always appeals more to my male students.

At the beginning of The Birthday Ball, Priscella is not a feminist. Instead, she is a victim, and she is told that she must marry one of the suitors who attend her ball. Not willing to play that role any longer, she grabs her independence by doing the only risky thing she has ever done-she pretends to be someone else. And it is in this costume, that she then finds herself. So, it is this main lesson that I think will be good for the young audience that Lowry writes for. Priscella does not wait to be saved-she finds a way to save herself. She is a modern princess, and her “prince” is a self-made man who loves her because she is the smartest girl in the class.

Now I admit that I like the Twilight saga, but there is one area (okay there are many but I like the books anyway) that really irks me. Bella is a victim. She is constantly waiting for Edward to tell her what to do, for him to protect her, and for him to agree to the choices she has made for her life. Priscella doesn’t wait for anyone. She wants to try something, and she does it.

Princess Patricia Priscilla might be the main character in a satire, but there is nothing funny about the independence that she shows and the wonderful example she is to young readers. show less

It’s amazing to me that the same author that wrote The Giver wrote the book I'm reviewing today because they couldn’t be more different. The Birthday Ball by Lois Lowry is a nontraditional fairytale about a princess who’d rather live among the people than follow any ridiculous royal decrees. (Roman Holiday, anyone?) Now that she’s turning 16 years old, Princess Patricia Priscilla's expected to marry one of the three suitors who are courting for her hand. Each man is more ghastly than the last. A lot of time is spent describing these hateful men (and the illustrations by Jules Feiffer really drive it home how disgusting and despicable her choices truly are. As in much of middle grade fiction, her parents are blind to her show more discomfort and unhappiness as they are caught up in their own lives and interests. (Dad is obsessed with butterflies and Mom is preoccupied with her wardrobe and appearance.) So neither takes any notice of her switching places with her maid and escaping out into the village to go to the local school. Dark humor coupled with the somewhat realistic portrayal of what it's like to be a village peasant plus the fantastic illustrations make this a quick, fun read. 7/10 show less

Fun juvenile novel about a princess who is just so unbearably bored with her life. To make matters worse, in five days she will turn 16 and have to choose between the Duke Desmond of Dyspepsia, Prince Percival of Pustula and Lords Colin and Cuthbert the Conjoint (who never bathe because no tub is big enough to fit them both) for her husband. She disguises herself as a peasant and sneaks off to attend the village school where she befriends the young, handsome schoolmaster. At the big birthday ball, she choses the schoolmaster -- not to wed but to help her become a teacher.

Though the story is not terribly original, the writing and characters are wonderful and the story was just so funny, with many laugh out loud moments. I immediately show more passed this on to my 8-yo daughter who loved it as well. show less

Obviously, I'm going to like this. It's a fun, funny, totally enjoyable, quick-read about a princess who sneaks out of her castle to go to school, invites all the peasants to her birthday ball, and finds a way to get out of marrying one of three (or four, technically) nasty (really gross-nasty) suitors.

My favorite parts:

1. So many things rhyme with delicious!
2. The norphan
3. The disgusting Duke of Dyspepsia, Prince of Pustula, and Conjoint Counts
4. An overall satisfying mixture of cute and gross
5. Just a smidge of feminism tucked in
6. Jules Feiffer's illustrations enhance it's Roald Dahl-ian smelly charm.

This review was originally posted on Goodreads

I enjoyed this little book from my children’s bookshelf. My daughter mentioned it had some potty humor and since I don’t usually keep potty humor on my bookshelf (more out of a disdain for books that stoop to potty humor for easy laughs than my dislike of potty humor in general) I decided to give this one a read.

The potty humor is not pervasive nor is it the used for cheep lights but in the development of one of the characters (plural, sort of 😆). You’ll have to read to see what I mean. In this case the potty humor was a non issue for me.

I don’t agree with the reviewers who said the story plot was undeveloped. This reads like traditional fairy tales. Think of how simple the show more Cinderella story is. Even with all the variations from around the world the simple plot remains. I would say this fairy tale is slightly more plot heavy than most traditional fairy tales; more characters, more side stories, more happening in general. But again, still reads like a fairy tale not in spite of its lake of plot development but because of it.

I agree that this reads like a Roald Dahl book and the humor is more in the British style. For those worried about making fun of ugly or a kingdom named Bulimia, or being insensitive to those with hearing loss, I guess you will want to skip this one. But these things are funny… what humor in the world is left if you leave out making fun of the human condition? It isn’t personal. Besides in the end, the ugly duke got the child he had always wanted through adoption and she gave a good message, “it doesn’t matter if you are ugly, what counts is inside.” So, if you like British humor and fairy tales you will enjoy this.

This book gets to remain on our shelf. show less

A lighthearted take on the classic Prince and the Pauper, Princess Patricia Priscilla switches clothes with her chambermaid to enjoy the daily life of a village schoolgirl.

"'I'm a poor peasant girl only recently come to live in the village because my mother was killed by a wild boar and my pa has to take in washing'...The children, each one seated at a small desk, giggled. I said it wrong, she thought. 'I mean my pa was killed, that's what, and it's my mother that has to take in washing. I mean my ma.'"

With her birthday approaching and an impending marriage to one of several undesirable suitors, the princess is determined to make the most of the time she has left. Conjoined counts, singing triplet serving maids, a distracted king and show more his hearing-impaired wife - Lois Lowry and illustrator Jules Feiffer are having some fun with this humorous fairy tale jaunt with a predictable, yet satisfying ending. Pure entertainment. show less

With this charming fairy tale, Lois Lowry shows her range. I love the dystopian worlds that Lowry creates in [The Giver] and [Gathering Blue], but [The Birthday Ball] is a much different sort of tale. As Lowry tells us about Princess Patricia Priscilla, who is about to be forced to choose a suitor (from some horrific choices) at her birthday ball, I was laughing out loud. Minor characters, like the princess's chambermaid and an orphan named Liz, add to this book's charm. I think I liked this book even better because I listened to it on audio and got the full effect of the alliteration. Not as deeply affecting as Lowry's other books, but enjoyable all the same.