To Be a Princess: The Fascinating Lives of Real Princesses

by Hugh Brewster

Book Overview

Princesses live in splendid palaces with servants to grant their every wish....Or do they? Here the stories of twelve real princesses reveal what life behind the palace walls is really like."This... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060294809
• ISBN13: 9780060294809
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 62 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 9.4" x 10.8"
• Age Range: 8 to 13 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 8

Customer Reviews

Well-compiled stories about real-life princesses

This would be a great book for a young reader who loves history and princesses. Actually, I liked this book even as an adult reader [we were in a used bookstore looking for books on princesses, and I came across this title]. "To Be a Princess" features true accounts of real-life princesses and includes the stories of: Mary [1516-58] and Elizabeth Tudor[1533-1603] of England Marie Antoinette[1755-1793] of France Victoria [later Queen Victoria] of England [1819-1901] Princess Ka'iulani of Hawai'i [1875-99] The Russian imperial princesses, i.e. Olga, Tatiana, Marie, and Anastasia Nikolayevna Princess Gayatri Devi of India [1919-] Elizabeth and Margaret Windsor of England The book also features an epilogue "To be a Princess", a brief commentary about lives of contemporary princesses. There is also a glossary, selected bibliography and picture credits. This is an interesting book that provides a brief yet insightful look into the lives of actual princesses in history.

To Be a Princess

I have always loved reading about royalty, so naturally I enjoyed this book. It introduces you to the famous (and not so famous) princesses of the world. I only wish the authors went a bit deeper in the biographies. I noticed a striking resemblance in the facts mentioned in many princess biographies to facts mentioned in the Royal Diaries series. Coincidence? Perhaps. This is a nice book for younger children, with nice illustrations and pictures, but I find The Royal Diaries more engrossing and in-depth.

Excellent!

I had intended to read just one story a day in this fascinating book, but found it impossible to stop with just that one story. Brewster and Coulter write well and know their princesses. The writing just seems to fill the reader in on so many aspects of the princesses' lives. I can see this book enticing youngsters to want to read more about the young ladies in the stories. As an avid adult reader, I have read enough about the princesses to give me background and fill in some of the information left out. But for a young someone just discovering these people, their appetites would be whetted and I would think they would want to find other books to read. Definitely a fascinating book. The pictures are placed throughout the text in a reader-friendly fashion. My only qualm was the sentence in the last paragraph on Elizabeth and Margaret: "Queen Elizabeth still rules England." I don't know much about England's government, but I'm pretty sure the queen does not "rule" England. However, I'd still recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about the world's royalty. It was a fun and interesting read.

Great Introduction

This book is a great introduction to the royalty of the world