The Princess Tales, Volume I

by Gail Carson Levine

Book Overview

Once upon a time...

A kind sister and a cruel one. A charming prince. A spiteful fairy. A hundred-year snooze. A pea under a pile of mattresses. A kiss.

All the familiar ingredients, but why is the punished sister happy? Where did that extra prince come from, and what does a flock of balding sheep or a fleck of tuna in a chocolate cake have to do with anything?

Gail Carson Levine has waved her magic wand over three well-known fairy tales,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060518413
• ISBN13: 9780060518417
• Release Date: November 2002
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

My daughter loves these stories

There was a time where trying to get my middle daughter to read was like trying to herd cats. Then she brought this book home from the school library. I didn't have to nag her once to finish it, she poured through it from cover to cover. She liked it because it was funny and captured her interest. Well, I was sold. I bought this book and Volume II and it was the beginning of the turn around. They helped to inspire the love of reading I was hoping for with my daughter, and now she willingly reads a wider variety of books.

Great!

I just love retellings of fairy tales, and Levine does some of the best work I've seen. They have just the right twist of humor to them, to show that she doesn't take herself too seriously, and the characters are so much fun! And it always has a happy ending, but not too sappy of an ending. I highly recommend this book for fantasy lovers of any age.

Each Story, Has Its Own Romance.

I love the way Gail Carson Levine has all of her chapters written in each different Princess story. The Fairy's Mistake, The Princess Test, and Princess Sonora and The Long Sleep are three different retellings of Cinderella/or Ella Enchanted, The Princess and The Pea and of course...Sleeping Beauty.Maybe someday, another one of Gail Carson Levine's books besides Ella Enchanted, will become live action movies, too.

Very amusing, even for a young child!

I am reading these stories (both volume 1 & 2) to my 5 yr old who is completely enamored with princesses - mostly Disney. So I am exposing her to all sorts of princess stories - old and new. They have short chapters and lots of humor, making these books great read alouds. I am enjoying them just as much (if not more than) my daughter. The mixed up fairy tales, have the usual humble and pitiful beginnings and the famous happily everafter endings, but getting there is more than half the fun. Great stories for young and old alike.

tales fit for any princess

Gail Carson Levine has taken some of the classic tales of princesses and endowed them with her own magical imagination.These stories of many generations of princesses of Biddle areenchanting and delightful. Even though you may recognize thebasic stories of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince and other tales, you will still enjoy the new twists. The narrator of this audiobook does an aadmirable job with voices and sound effects which add to the listener's enjoyment. Thesestories are funny and endearing and are recommended for princesses and fairy tale lovers of all ages.