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238th out of 947 books
—
657 voters
The Princess Knight
Cornelia Funke, author of the bestselling Thief Lord, tells a short, sweet story about a brave little princess with a mind of her own.
King Wilfred's three sons learn to become big, bad knights the way any boisterous boys would: "They learned riding and jousting, fighting with swords...They learned how to stride proudly and how to shout very loudly." At her father's urging
...morePaperback, 32 pages
Published
(first published 2001)
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Apr 11, 2011
Gundula
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in strong female characters, knightly fairy tales
Originally published in German as Der geheimnisvolle Ritter Namenlos (which can be roughly translated as the mysterious knight no-name), Cornelia Funke's clever tale of a little princess, who, after the death of her mother, is taught by her father the same lessons and knightly pursuits he is teaching his sons, is both entertaining and empowering (and a great story for all children, not just little girls). Violetta is smaller than her brothers, and of course, like many younger siblings, she recei...more
6 likes · like · see review
view all 13 comments
Apr 10, 2011
Dolly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
parents reading with their children
This is a terrific tale about a princess who learns to keep up and even beat the boys, in her own way. She is not as strong or as loud, but she is hard working and determined to be good at what she does. She doesn't come by her talent too easily - there is an illustration of the poor girl's bruises being tended to by her nursemaid. She is persistent, though, and in the end it pays off. We really enjoyed this story and we loved the ending. The illustrations are wonderful and I love that features...more
2 likes · like · see review
When Princess Violetta was born her mother died. Her father didn’t know what to do, so he raised Violetta just like her 3 older brothers. At first her brothers laughed at her because she was too small to lift a sword and fell off her horse. But Violetta was determined and every night she snuck out of the castle and practiced until she was better than her brothers. On her 16th birthday the king decides to hold a jousting tournament and the champion knight will win the princesses hand in marriage....more
I have to admit that I wasn't able to finish Funke's Inkheart, but I really enjoyed this story with the interesting drawings (based, so the inside cover informs me) on the Bayeux tapestry. I've been a little concerned about my (almost) 3-year-old's daily dose of princess literature; this story shows that a princess doesn't just have to do girly stuff. In this story, the princess Violetta is born to a King with three sons; since her mother dies shortly after Violetta's birth, the king decides to...more
I was reading this book for the Children's Book Picture Book Club for the theme of royalty and I was so into this book! “The Princess Knight” is a children's book by Cornelia Funke along with illustrations by Kerstin Meyer and it is about a young woman named Violetta who ends up competing with the other knights to become the best knight in her father's kingdom. “The Princess Knight” is a truly brilliant book that shows women in a strong light that every child will definitely love for many years!...more
4 likes · like · see review
The Princess Knight is a good read for any child and especially a little girl. It shows that girls can do anything that a boy can do. In the case of the little princess, she has the skill to do even better than her brothers and other knights. When the princess was a baby her mother died and the king raised her the only way he knew how, which was to raise her as he had her brothers. The princess was much smaller than her brothers and they often teased her. She trained secretly herself and became...more
7 likes · like · see review
Feb 02, 2011
Brenda
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Knightly Princesses
Shelves:
picture-books
A very cute story of a little princess who is raised to to do all the things that her brothers do like jousting, horseback riding and sword fighting. Violetta is however teased by her brothers because she is smaller and not as strong as they are. She is determined to get better thus sneaks out of the castle each night to practice. In no time, Violetta is jousting and fighting better than her brothers and they begin to tease her less and less. On Violetta's sixteenth birthday her father announces...more
4 likes · like · see review
I enjoyed this picture book by renowned author Cornelia Funke. Having read her (perhaps overly long and detailed but still lovely) novel Inkheart, I was curious how her style would translate to picture books.
By and large, I enjoyed the story. There wasn't really anything "special" in the telling (such as really vibrant word choice or a unique author style) but the story itself was definitely fun and captivating. I love that it's a "strong princess" story without trying to fly in the face of all...more
By and large, I enjoyed the story. There wasn't really anything "special" in the telling (such as really vibrant word choice or a unique author style) but the story itself was definitely fun and captivating. I love that it's a "strong princess" story without trying to fly in the face of all...more
10 likes · like · see review
(Note: both author and illustrator are German)
King Wilfred the Worthy knows how to raise sons. So when the Queen gives birth to a daughter (and the Queen promptly dies), Princess Violetta is raised in the same manner as her brothers. At first she’s laughed at because she’s too small and weak to ride the horses and swing a sword, but with a little determination, the Princess finds that extra practice and doing it her way (not her father’s) makes her a very successful knight. When she turns 16, th...more
King Wilfred the Worthy knows how to raise sons. So when the Queen gives birth to a daughter (and the Queen promptly dies), Princess Violetta is raised in the same manner as her brothers. At first she’s laughed at because she’s too small and weak to ride the horses and swing a sword, but with a little determination, the Princess finds that extra practice and doing it her way (not her father’s) makes her a very successful knight. When she turns 16, th...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This is a cute story about a king who had a lot of sons, but only one daughter. The queen passed away when the princess was only a baby so she was left to be raised by the king who decided her upbringing would be no different than her brothers.
The little princess in this story shows our children that they can achieve whatever goal they desire with a lot of hard work and determination, to not let others bully them into not believing in themself, and that all that hard work might pay off in a big...more
The little princess in this story shows our children that they can achieve whatever goal they desire with a lot of hard work and determination, to not let others bully them into not believing in themself, and that all that hard work might pay off in a big...more
Violetta is the youngest of 4 children and the only girl. Her mother died when she was born and her father has no idea how to raise a little girl. So he raises her the same as the 3 boys. Violetta has to struggle to accomplish the same tasks as her brothers, but with extra practice she soon becomes better than they ever were. One day her father announces that he is to hold a contest of knights to see who will win her hand in marriage. Violetta is not happy with this at all. So she sends her maid...more
This princess armors herself, literally! To prove herself worthy of her brothers' respect, Princess Violetta self-trains as a knight when everyone else in the castle is asleep, with the rose gardener's son keeping watch for her. After years of hard work, she is superior to all of her brothers' skills. When she turns sixteen and her father insists on holding a jousting tournament with her hand in marriage as the prize, brave Violetta enters the contest in disguise and wins her own independence. A...more
Book Talk:
All my life I have been taught to ride horses, fight with a sword, and joust along with my three older brothers. You see, my mother died when I was born and my father, King Wilfred, honestly didn’t know what else to do with me. Since my mean older brothers tease me nonstop about how I am smaller and weaker than them, I have been practicing my lessons extra hard, and even in secret at night. I’m getting so good that they are having a hard time beating me in a fight! But then I heard the...more
All my life I have been taught to ride horses, fight with a sword, and joust along with my three older brothers. You see, my mother died when I was born and my father, King Wilfred, honestly didn’t know what else to do with me. Since my mean older brothers tease me nonstop about how I am smaller and weaker than them, I have been practicing my lessons extra hard, and even in secret at night. I’m getting so good that they are having a hard time beating me in a fight! But then I heard the...more
27 months - Yay for girls being able to do what the boys do! This is a fun read for a little girl.
35 months - found a near mint hard copy at the Goodwill and had to have it!
35 months - found a near mint hard copy at the Goodwill and had to have it!
I actually ended up quite enjoying this book!
I'm always a little hesitant that 'strong female character books' will end up being, not so much that, as 'lazy-stupid-classless male books.'
Thankfully (even though there was indeed some of that in this book) I felt our princess held her own and made herself a protagonist from her own hard work and dedication.
Yes, I would have liked for there to be at least one prince or knight that wasn't so stereotypical, but other than that I didn't really have to...more
I'm always a little hesitant that 'strong female character books' will end up being, not so much that, as 'lazy-stupid-classless male books.'
Thankfully (even though there was indeed some of that in this book) I felt our princess held her own and made herself a protagonist from her own hard work and dedication.
Yes, I would have liked for there to be at least one prince or knight that wasn't so stereotypical, but other than that I didn't really have to...more
4 likes · like · see review
The king has three sons and has raised them how his father raised him. But the queen has another child, a daughter this time, and the queen passed away after giving birth.
The little princess was named Violetta and with the queen being gone, her father was left to raise her and he raised the same way he raised his sons - to be great knights.
But Violetta's brothers pick on her for being so small, for not being able to ride well or walk around in armor.
But she doesn't give up. She is determined to...more
The little princess was named Violetta and with the queen being gone, her father was left to raise her and he raised the same way he raised his sons - to be great knights.
But Violetta's brothers pick on her for being so small, for not being able to ride well or walk around in armor.
But she doesn't give up. She is determined to...more
The author's got it: feminism isn't about being angry and hating men -- it's about girls having the right to determine their own fate, such as marriage. Little girls can be princesses or they can be something else or they can be princesses AND something else. They can be smaller and quieter than boys and still be awesome. They can wear dresses AND know how to fight and who that little girl grows up to be should be decided by her, her personality and the things that makes her happy, and not what...more
A very good story about determining your own way in life. I thought that the ending was very odd, though, a non-sequitur that seemed to be the ending from another story entirely.
I really enjoyed how the princess learned her own versions of the knightly skills, and used her size and agility as part of her set of combat tools. Unfortunately, this left part of the climax not quite making sense, since her small size and unusual skills should have made the "Knight with No Name" pretty obvious. In tha...more
I really enjoyed how the princess learned her own versions of the knightly skills, and used her size and agility as part of her set of combat tools. Unfortunately, this left part of the climax not quite making sense, since her small size and unusual skills should have made the "Knight with No Name" pretty obvious. In tha...more
Mar 22, 2011
Lisa Vegan
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Lisa by:
Kathryn
Loved it! The story is very sweet and very funny. It’s a shame, though, that these gender themed stories are still even necessary, the “girls can do what boys can do” stories. I even checked the date, hoping this was penned in the 1970s or earlier, but no, the original copyright for the story & pictures is 2001.
But, it’s a lovely original fairy tale. The illustrations are amusing and aesthetically pleasing, if taking the context of the story into account. I enjoyed the tale very much also. T...more
But, it’s a lovely original fairy tale. The illustrations are amusing and aesthetically pleasing, if taking the context of the story into account. I enjoyed the tale very much also. T...more
9 likes · like · see review
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Not a bad little feminist princess book. I have to say, I'm not Funke's biggest fan. I think her stuff is too long and wordy, and this one is no exception. The ending is a little weird too, with the princess knight just leaving and marrying someone we never get to meet. It could have been left out entirely. Good for a mixed storytime because it's more on the Knight side of things than the "princess" for the boys, and you'll have the girls at "Princess."
My favorite feminist princess book. Princess Violetta wants to be just like her three older brothers. She practices horseriding, jousting and swordplay in her quiet way and becomes stronger and stronger each day. But when her father informs her that he will invite the bravest knights for a jousting contest to win her hand in marriage, Violetta is livid! She decides to take matters into her own hand and show her father that she has ideas of her own.
Genre: Picture Book
Audience: K-6
Reading Level: Late Early/Transitional Readers
Curricular Uses: Read-Aloud, Independent Reading
Topic: Princesses
Theme: A princess can be as strong as a male, reversing the theme that princesses must be rescued by princes
Literary Elements: Dialogue, fairy tale language (and she lived happily ever after), humor
Illustrations: The illustrations are not as bright and exciting as they could be, and they do not reinforce the text as much as they could.
Additional Commen...more
Audience: K-6
Reading Level: Late Early/Transitional Readers
Curricular Uses: Read-Aloud, Independent Reading
Topic: Princesses
Theme: A princess can be as strong as a male, reversing the theme that princesses must be rescued by princes
Literary Elements: Dialogue, fairy tale language (and she lived happily ever after), humor
Illustrations: The illustrations are not as bright and exciting as they could be, and they do not reinforce the text as much as they could.
Additional Commen...more
A book that would have been on my daughter's shelves when she was little had it been around. I especially liked how she learned to improve her skills by teaching herself how to do things her way - and changed her situation through action. A nice offering for girls when the market seems to be flooded with pink and purple fancies and frills.
This is a story of a princess who learns to compete with her knightly brothers. It reminded me of one of my favorites, "Atalanta," which I loved on Free to Be You and Me. I would just hate to think that this tale of female empowerment is still relevant. Still, it is a good read and the pictures are quirky and detailed.
One of my new favorite girl power books! An anti-princess princess book (like the Paper Bag Princess by Munsch)--in this one, the girl disguises herself as a knight and surprises her father, the king...when he is all set to marry the winner of a duel off to his daughter, she uncloaks to reveal herself as the victor!
Apr 12, 2011
Cheryl in CC NV
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
feminists, fans of Jay williams
Ooh - wonderful. The illustrations were so fun, with all the detail. And the titular twist was done with perfect grace and verve. Violetta is smart, brave, resourceful, and kind. What parent wouldn't want their little girl to be like her? Well done - I'm going to be recommending this one.
3 likes · like · see review
This is about a young girl who was raise by a man that only knew how to raise sons. She becomes the greatest knight in the kingdom and she wins the right to choose who she will marry. The theme of this book teaches children to follow their hearts and that with a little determination, anything is possible.
Violetta, a little princess, is determined to become as big and strong as her brothers. She secretly teaches herself to become the bravest and cleverest knight in the land until she must face the king's best knights in a jousting tournament. Will she be ready?
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Cornelia Caroline Funke is a multiple award-winning German author of children's and YA fiction. She is best known for her Inkheart trilogy. The Inkheart books have gained a variety of attention, and critics have praised Funke as the "German J. K. Rowling". Her books are very popular in her native country, and many have now been translated into English. Her work fits mainly into the fantasy and adv...more
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