One of our weekly themes this year is "Knights and Princesses" and I've had fun searching through Amazon and the catalog for the most diverse and interesting and active books I could find. However, I do admit to a soft spot for a beautiful princess book (illustrations and actual princesses), and here are two that won't be getting used this summer, but still deserve a shout-out for being utterly lush and delightful.
In the "so pretty but so peculiar" category, we have:
The Twelve Dancing Princesses
retold and illustrated by Ruth Sanderson
ISBN: 9781566568647
A peculiar re-telling of the traditional tale has plot-holes galore, but is so pretty it almost doesn't matter.
Sanderson is a manifestly accomplished illustrator, and if she wants to re-tell a fairy tale to illustrate, more power to her. Next time around, might I suggest a little more attention to the narrative?
First things first, this is one of the most beautiful fairy tale books I've seen. I'm quite partial to the lush gilded overdone illustrations of Kinuko Craft or Sarah Gibb (to name two very diverging methods of achieving lush and overdone) and Sanderson falls quite neatly into that same realm. These princesses are beautiful and have individual features, and exquisite dresses, the environments are detailed and delightful, and every page has beautiful details and grace notes to catch the eye and marvel over.
On the downside, the story has plotholes fit to drive a truck through. Our story begins with the king declaring that any prince who wished to try and solve the mystery of the worn-out dancing slippers would be welcome to try, and that many princes had attempted, but all had vanished during the night. Later on, we find that the vanished princes are the dancing partners (and the oarsmen in the swan boats) for the princesses, and that the princesses are the ones who bewitched them all, each in turn. So - did the princesses dance with each other before then? Did they row themselves across the lake? How on earth do the daughters of a king who is quoted as "a man who did not believe in magic cloaks or enchanted castles" find a magic trap-door, learn to bespell princes with enchanted wine, and find a magic kingdom conveniently underneath their bedroom? I know these issues exist to some extent in the original tale, but by making the daughters the active party in the dancing scheme with no obvious explanation how, all those impossibilities become a little harder to ignore. And really, the goal in a fairy tale is to just ignore the impossibilities and enjoy the story.
If those beautiful illustrations aren't sufficient to distract from the plot-issues, then I really don't know what would.
And in the "too long, but utterly enchanting" category, we have:
The Princess Who Had No Kingdom
Ursula Jones, illustrated by Sarah Gibb
ISBN: 9780807566305
Gibb's signature silhouettes and "Grahame Johnstone"-style willowy fae characters make a delightful modern fairy tale even more delectable.
Full disclosure, as soon as I read this book, I bought a copy for myself. It's SOOOO good. Jones has written a lovely story about a princess who lives on a pony-cart and supports herself by delivering odd packages to people, and by visiting local royals, trying to find her kingdom. (She's obviously a princess, because that's her name, and she's beautiful and sweet and kind, so: obviously a princess.) Despite set-backs, and the haughty disdain of the actual nobles, this sweet girl stays true to herself and realizes that perhaps life among the nobility isn't so grand after all, and she finds her own kingdom without having to go very far away at all. It's delightful and sweet and modern and just sassy enough to not be totally cloying, and that's not even starting on the illustrations.
The illustrations are amazing. When I was a child, my grandmother had a set of Dean's fairy tales and nursery rhyme books, the ones illustrated by Anne and Janet Grahame Johnstone. I spent a good portion of my childhood poring over those stories and those haunting and fae illustrations, especially the ones from the Frog Prince and the White Cat. Gibb reminds me so strongly of those delightful illustrations, but adds her own delightful touches like the truly stunning cut-out/silhouette work, and the fine-line details along the borders of just about everything. They're just perfect. They make my heart hurt with how delightful they are.
I love everything about this book, except that it's too long to read in storytime.
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