Fantasy – juvenile fiction

Princesses – juvenile fiction

Princes and princesses – juvenile fiction

BOOK LISTS:

The Malachite Palace by Alma Flor Ada (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 1998)
A tiny yellow bird helps a lonely princess learn the truth about songs, freedom, and the children who are playing beyond the palace gates.

The Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Eve Tharlet (Picture Book Studio, 1987)

By feeling a pea through twenty mattresses and twenty featherbeds, a girl proves she is a real princess.

The Princess and the Pizza by Mary Jane Auch (Holiday House, 2002)

An out-of-work princess applies to become the bride of Prince Drupert, but first she must pass several tests, including a cooking contest.

Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole (Puffin Books, 1986)

Princess Smartypants does not want to get married. When family pressure mounts, she agrees to look for a mate but sets the candidates tasks that are impossible. But then Prince Swashbuckle shows up…

Morgan and Me by Stephen Cosgove (Serendipity Communications, 1975)

In the Land of Later lived a little princess who liked to do things “a little later”. When she finds herself in trouble, a unicorn friend teachers her the importance of doing things now.

The Princess Knight by Cornelia Funke (Scholastic, 2003)

King Wilfred teaches his daughter the same knightly skills he has taught his three sons. Mocked by her brothers for being smaller and weaker, Princess Violetta grows more determined to succeed. By beating all contenders in an important jousting contest, she wins a great prize – her independence.

Prince Sparrow by Mordicai Gerstein (Four Winds Press, 1984)

When a sparrow flies into her room on her eighth birthday, a mean and selfish princess, convinced that it is a charmed prince, keeps the bird close to her.

The Princess and the Pirate King by Debi Gliori (Kingfisher Books, 1996)

Princess Podkin wishes for some excitement in her life, but when she lets in the brazen Pirate-King, who locks her parents in the dungeon and begins destroying the place, Podkin is no longer bored.

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch (Annick Press, 1980)

Princess Elizabeth was beautiful, and rich and about to marry Prince Ronald until a dragon destroyed her castle and flew off with him. But Elizabeth was a resourceful girl and, left with nothing but a paper bag to wear, she set out to find him.

The Second Princess by Hiawyn Oram and Tony Ross (Western Publishing Company, Inc., 1994)

The Second Princess tries to get rid of her sister, the First Princess, until she learns that her parents love them both equally.

The Wide-Awake Princess by Katherine Paterson (Clarion Books, 2000)

After the death of her self-absorbed parents, a clever princess shows the peasants in her country how to make better lives for themselves.

Many Moons by James Thurber (Harcourt Brace & Company, 1943)

Though many try, only the court jester is able to fulfill Princess Lenore’s wish for the moon.

The Twelve Dancing Princesses by Janet Lunn (Methuen Publications, 1979)

Wonderful illustrations by Laszlo Gal bring to life Lunn’s retelling of this French fairy tale.

Sleeping Beauty by Margaret Early (Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1993)

A beautifully illustrated version of this classic tale.

A Treasury of Princesses: Princess Tales from Around the World by Shirley Climo (Harper Collins, 1996)

This book retells seldom-heard princess tales, featuring such heroines as White Jade, Gulnara, and Vasilisa the Frog Princess. A discussion of princess lore precedes each story.

Children’s Services, Red Deer Public Library/2005

Where possible, book descriptions have been taken from the books themselves.