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Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library | Juvenile Picture Book Hardback | 120791000601414 | J P ATW | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Presenting Princess Prunella. Proud, prissy, and pretty, and unhappily very spoiled, she lives in a pink palace with her pinheaded parents, her three plump pussycats, and her prize puppy dog, Pug. Her passion? Her very own person. Her aspiration? To marry a pinheaded prince with piles of pin money, who will praise and pamper her. From Margaret Atwood--the novelist, poet, short story writer and author of such contemporary bestsellers as The Handmaid's Tale and The Robber Bride --comes a modern fairy tale with a classic message. Illustrated with elegant humor by Maryann Kovalski, Princess Prunella and the Purple Peanut revels in the smart-alecky humor of its impertinent heroine and an alliteration of p's that gives the story a tongue-twisting energy with surprises at every turn. Children, and adults who love reading to children, will love reading princess prunella in the same way that they love reading Dr. Suess for the sheer fun of the language. But there's something more, too, as a born storyteller creates, with the mere choice of a word, an indelibly lively portrait of a spoiled little girl who is about to get her much-deserved comeuppance. Selection of Book-of-the-Month Club.
53,000 copies in print.
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Canadian literary icon Atwood takes a break from serious fiction and cuts loose with this deliciously silly romp. Preoccupied with her own prettiness, Prunella, a positive pill of a princess, passes her time peering into a pocket mirror to see her perfect dimples; planning nuptials with a prince who has piles of pin money; and producing pandemonium for her pained parents, pets and the parlormaids paid to pick up after her. She gets her comeuppance when she provokes a ``wrinkly-wristed'' wise woman, who places on the princess's proboscis a purple peanut that won't go away until she performs three good deeds. All's well that ends well, however, and prudence wins out over pride. The fun is infectious, and greatly amplified by Kovalski's (Pizza for Breakfast) droll illustrations. It's also a particularly pleasing read-aloud, as Atwood's outrageous alliteration ("for supper she fed Prunella some parsley and paprika soup, a pile of potted pigeon and pickerel pancakes, and some pepper and porridge preserve, on a pretty plate patterned with pendulous poppies") proves irresistible. Perfectly peachy. Ages 5-8. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Gr. 3^-5. Princess Prunella is proud, prissy, and pretty. She plans to marry a rich, pinheaded prince who will praise her and pamper her. But a Wise Woman puts a spell on Prunella, and the princess sprouts a purple peanut on her nose, which disappears only when she gives up her spoiled, selfish ways. Atwood's funny parody mocks many of the old traditional tales, especially the "Princess and the Pea." The story also laughs at everyone's certainty that the pimple on your nose is a lurid monstrosity. Kids will enjoy the alliterative wordplay, though it does get to be a bit much at times, like a cute private joke played out too long. You find yourself skipping some of the lists. In contrast, the moments of spare prose are dramatic: "You are not pretty inside, just as I am not poor," the Wise Woman tells the princess. Kovalski's line-and-watercolor pictures evoke a Marie Antoinette^-style palace, with wry images and slapstick action that ridicule the pretension and subvert the silly surfaces. Kids will enjoy this feminist fractured fairy tale farce. --Hazel Rochman