Princess Penelope

Princess Penelope #1

by Todd Mack, Julia Gran (Illustrator)

From an original new team comes the perfect gift book for all the little princesses & princes in your kingdom--not your typical princess fare!

"Penelope was a princess. She was absolutely certain..." And why would Penelope think otherwise? After all, she dressed like a princess, traveled like a princess, & ruled her kingdom just like a princess. Does she sound like any little girls you know?

Spare rhythmic text w/ fun refrains makes this perfect for reading aloud. Magical art in swirling candy colors features playful pink bubbles that distinguish Penelope's royal world from the everyday. Here's a loving tribute to one child's rich & fanciful imagination.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Humor, Fiction, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[melhara]

Penelope thinks she's a princess. As someone who has read a lot of fairy tales, she's become an expert on princesses and finds that she shares many common traits with them - she is often pampered, she has a lot of nice things, her parents call her 'princess', she always gets what she wants, etc, etc.... therefore, she must be a real-life princess! I suppose her reasoning is sound but it makes her come across as being quite bratty. Still, a pretty funny and entertaining picture book.

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Part of a personal challenge to read all of my boyfriend's and his sister's childhood books before we donate and give them away.

[Alissa Faust]

I think that this book should have been called "Princess Ava". I finally understand what goes through her mind. I am indebted to this author for the insight...

[Nickcole]

My daughter and I loved it because she fashions herself to be a princess also. This is just a fun silly read for young children.

[Emili]

Contemporary Realistic
K-3rd grade reading level

Princess Penelope is really just a normal girl who thinks of herself as a princess. She is a bit of a brat, but the book makes up for it with all of her imagination. The pictures bring her imagination to life. This is a cute book that I'd recommend to any girl out there who has a large imagination.

[Kristina]

I personally thought that the kid was kind of a brat, but she is a kid and they think how they think. My kids did find a few parts of this book funny.

[Nicole]

Princesses are spoiled brats.

[Rachel]

My kindergartener didn’t like this story or the illustrations. I personally hated the fonts chosen.

[Emma]

Princess Penelope is one we've been reading at princess parties for a while now, and I think I'm gonna have to make a change. While the story has a good rhythm and some nice repetition, the kids aren't as engaged by it and not very interactive at all. I did eventually get them to fill in the word "princess", but it took a good long while. Also Penelope is a bit spoiled and bratty at times, although this does generally end in a time out (on her "throne").

Furthermore, Scholastic has labeled it ages 5-8 on the website, but it's DEFINITELY skewed younger than that. In fact, I would say that the oldest for this book would be the threes I read it to. Penelope is apparently a toddler, as evidenced by her car seat, potty and "chariot". But on the other hand, I'm not sure the kids get the nuances of the illustrations, half based in reality and half in Penelope's fantasy kingdom.

Read my full review and comparison to other books at my blog: http://shorteasywordsreviews.blogspot...

[Kelli Best]

We've read two of these books: this one and "Princess Penelope Takes Charge" (in which Penelope has to deal with the arrival of...horror or horrors...a baby BROTHER!). I just love these illustrations, and Princess Penelope is a character Nora can really relate to - totally hooked on being a Princess, totally intent on having things the way she thinks they should be! But she learns that sometimes Mom and Dad do know best, and that having a baby brother isn't all that bad. This was written by a man that truly understands the psyche of a 3-year-old princess (maybe that should be alarming - grin)

[Becky B]

Penelope is convinced she is a princess since she does so many princessy things. A book in simple text. The unique and alluring part for adults will be the illustrations. Penelope is usually drawn inside of a pink "bubble" illustrated as she sees things, but anything outside the bubble will show up as how everyone else sees things. I liked the subtlety of this technique, and how it can lead to more discussions with kids about similarities and differences, giving the book more depth than just Penelope's Princess daydreams.

[Maeghan Nutmeg Librarian]

One thing I liked about the art style of the book is how the artist distinguishes Penelope's imagination from her real life at home. There's almost a "veil" covering her activities and clothing, and you can see the difference between her as the princess she believes she is, and what her "normal" life looks like. It's cute!

But really, my favorite thing is how she uses a toilet as one of her many thrones. #gpoy?

[Emily]

I was not a huge fan of this book and the message it conveyed. Although many parents think their daughters are "princesses" this book does not do a great job talking about reality. This may be great for young kids, but after or around age 5 may be pushing it. Also, the illustrations are everywhere and somewhat hard to follow.

[Amy]

Found "Princess" Penelope to be pretty irritating. The illustrations were clever in how they depicted both the reality of the scene and how Penelope was imagining it in her mind. But the girl seriously needs an attitude check...

[Cassie]

This book was very cute. I especially liked the page about Penelope's thrones. Too cute. The illustrations were cute, and my 3 year old asked to read it more than once, so I know it was a good one for her too.

[Heather]

This was a terrible book. The author obviously finds his protagonist to be an insufferable brat. And woe to the poor little Caroline who was the inspiration for this story. I can only imagine how awful she must be in real life.

[Bailey]

This book was pretty good. It showed a lot of imagination which is great! Children would love the repetitions in the story. I honestly got a little bored with it, but I loved the imagination part of it all.

[Henry&Lily]

Lily found this at the library and just HAD to get it. Of course she loved it because it's basically the story of her life. Cute story.

[Tina B]

"princesses, similarities to normal single child girls"

[Bekah]

Lexi and I read this a ton when she was 1 1/2 - 3 yrs. Now she doesn't get into it if I check it out (she's 5 1/2). But it was so cute for a toddler girl.

[Tara]

perfect book to read to your daughter, especially if she's convinced she's a princess.

[Tristan]

Cute story. No wonder little girls have a princess complex!

[Joey]

Loved this book! My 3 year old loved it, but I don't think it was for the same reasons. It was a hoot!

[Chelsea Bashore]

mehh

[Millie Cowart]

I like the part when Penelope became a princess. Princesses rule the kingdom. They do their princess duty. I love this book.

[Leyla]

It's pretty, nice illustrations and lessons!

[Jonathan Chew]

It was a cute story but the main character was a little pompous but still a good resolve at the end :)

[Sarah]

This book just wasn't to my liking. I won't be reading the others in the series.

[FelisLibris]

This was an adorable little book.