The Princess Tales, Volume I Princess Tales :: Education by Design Store

Customer Reviews

2nd Quater Book Project

2007-01-16
The Princess Tales Volume One By Gail Carson Levine

Rosella is a princess that was granted with a spell that made jewels come out of her mouth when she talked. No one really appreciated her but they appreciated her jewels.

Lorelei was a girl that lived with her nanny that didnt like her very much at all. Lorelei ends up pretending that she was a princess and it turned out she did eveything a real princess should be able to do.

Sonaro was a princess that was granted with a spell that if she was pricked with needle she would fall asleep for a hundred years and a prince would wake her up with a kiss. Sonaro gets pricked by a needle and she falls asleep for a hundrd years and she wakes up with a prince that was perfect for her.

Three princesses are each fighting hard times with spells and people.

Hundreds of years ago on Snettering-On-Snoakes these three tales take place.

Beauty, bravery, fear, hope, and love all take place in the story making it very detailed and addicting to read.

I liked this story. These tales really made me want to keep reading to find out how these princesses would go on living and why.

Warning- check your edition

2006-03-22
This book actually deserves 4 or 5 stars EXCEPT that the one that we got when we ordered it (a few weeks ago) has a major printing error- after page 138 pages 59-90 are repeated, before picking the story back up at page 171. That means that you miss the end of the second story and the beginning of the third, which caused great distress when it was discovered halfway through a long plane flight! We have the first Harper Trophy paperback edition (2003). Get the book- but make sure you get a different edition!

Great!

2005-08-21
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.

2004-07-06
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! 2004-06-17
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.

The Princess Tales 2003-05-30

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, and presto! They are transformed -- and sparklingly funny-in these delightful retellings:

The Fairy's Mistake
The Princess Test
Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep

Happily ever after has never been so hilarious!

Cute little stories

2003-02-26
Gail Carson Levine is best known for "Ella Enchanted," a smart retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. But she's also penned a series of short novellas, the Princess Tales. Now three of these cute stories are available in a three-for-one paperback, that fans of retold fairy tales will enjoy.

"The Princess Test" is tried on Lorelei when she stumbles onto a castle. There, all the girls who try out are tested as to whether they are "real" princesses, and the girl who is deemed most worthy will marry Prince Nicholas. But Nicholas wants a girl he loves!

"The Fairy's Mistake" is a definite problem. Two girls encounter the fairy Ethelinda, and she gives them what they deserve: Sweet Rosella has jewels and flowers fall from her mouth, while nasty Myrtle has snakes and toads. The mistake? Now Rosella is held captive by a greedy prince, and Myrtle is using her "gift" as blackmail.

"Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep" is a twist on a familiar tale -- spinning wheel, enchanted sleep, fairy gifts and curses. But there are a few elements that weren't there before -- balding sheep, a prince who doesn't work out, and fairies who are getting a little competitive.

These stories don't have the length to develop the depth of "Princesses of Bamarre" or "Ella Enchanted," but they're nice twists on the old fairy-tales. Her heroines are endearingly smart and independant, the love interests are likeable, and the twists on the stories are cute. (Such as the "Fairy's Mistake," where the blessing turns out to be more trouble than the curse)

If you like retold fables or smart heroines, then the three-pack "Princess Tales" are a good light read, especially for those who like a humorous ending.

tales fit for any princess 2003-01-12
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 are
enchanting and delightful. Even though you may recognize the
basic 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. These

stories are funny and endearing and are recommended for princesses and fairy tale lovers of all ages.