The Light Princess

by Robin McKinley (Adaptor), George MacDonald (Story), Katie Thamer Treherne (Illustrator)

Genres: Fantasy, Classics, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Picture Books

44 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Robin McKinley is an American author acclaimed for fantasy novels and inventive retellings of classic fairy tales, often featuring resilient heroines and richly imagined worlds. She gained early prominence with Beauty, a reworking of Beauty and the Beast, and achieved major recognition when The Hero and the Crown won the Newbery Medal, establishing her as a leading voice in children’s and young adult fantasy. Drawing on a widely traveled upbringing and a lifelong devotion to folklore, she has reinterpreted stories such as Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood while also creating original works, including the Damar novels and later titles like Sunshine and Dragonhaven. Her fiction is known for emotional depth, moral complexity, and sensory detail, blending adventure with themes of courage, identity, and compassion. In addition to novels, she has written short story collections, edited anthologies, and collaborated on projects exploring mythic elements. Her influence on modern fantasy has been widely recognized, culminating in her designation as a Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association. McKinley’s body of work continues to attract devoted readers across generations for its distinctive voice and enduring imaginative power.

Reviews

[Joshua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delighted to find this while thrifting.

[Lil Old Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very charming fairytale with an adult message as well. Short sweet read.

[Watermarked Pages · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm having a hard time deciding what age/maturity level this is appropriate for; I think it would really depend on the child. It's a bit gruesome (breaking a curse requires someone to sacrifice their life, and their slow death is described) and there is some witchcraft. But it is alternately funny, satirical, and profound. The sacrifice (and how little it is appreciated at first) has some parallels to Christ's sacrifice for us. I enjoyed it as an adult, I'll just use some discernment about when my kids can read it.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet little story though it is pretty dated and I found the writing to be too affected for me to really connect with the characters or the plot. It was a fairy tale told in the style of an old fashioned lilting fable so though I found it to be clever I didn't find it to be especially engaging.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book I was deeply fascinated by as a child. It took me many years to find it again with only small details to go by. Given how things can be deleted nowadays without so much as a warning, it felt necessary to have a copy of this particular book.

[Kitty · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a little punning here that is fun for people who are just learning about word play.

[Janie · Rating 1 out of 5]

HATED.

[Catarina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Uma ideia interessante que tem no entanto uma série de páginas a mais...

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely fairy tale with all the classic elements: a cursed princess, an evil plot to destroy the kingdom, and a knight trying to save everyone. A must-read if you like fairy tales!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely the most charming thing MacDonald has ever written. Completely delightful. And possibly written entirely for the sake of puns.

[Luke Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick fun kid's book. The concept of a princess without gravity is fascinating - but the real story is how she finds it.

[April eclecticbookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick classic dark fairytale I wish I'd read before!

[Georgina Warren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always thought this was a charming fairy tale. A princess is cursed to lose her gravity by her wicked aunt and spends her time floating through life while her royal parents worry and wonder how to bring her back to earth.

The structure of the plot feels similar to Sleeping Beauty because both stories feature a princess growing up with an enchantment caused by an angry spinster that didn't get invited to her christening. But the resolution is quite surprising. The prince doesn't rescue her in the same way as he does in other stories. In this story, the two lovers come together, and they save each other in different ways. The prince joins the princess while swimming and they get to build a relationship before the climax. The prince offers to stop the leak in the lake while sacrificing his life and in turn the princess saves him and the shock of nearly losing him causes her to cry and regain her gravity. I also enjoyed the disclaimer at the end that the princess needed training to learn how to walk after spending her life with no gravity and that the spell did not get passed on to her future children.

[Haskell Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review is by my daughter Allie. (We read it together.)

In this fairy tale, a princess is cursed with weightlessness by her evil aunt. She meets a prince who is looking for wife. He finds many princesses but they all have flaws. When he meets the light princess in the water (she loves the water because she regains her weight) he falls in love with her even though she has no gravity. The evil aunt does not like that the light princess regains her gravity in the lake, so she drains it with the dark snake. The Prince saved the water in a costly way.

[Becca Stokes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of a woman cursed without gravity, who cannot be sad, or have her feet touch the ground - she only becomes heavy when she is in the water, so of course, it is while swimming that she meets a prince.

Love transforms you, or can if it's real.

[Kelsey Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is kinda hard to review because the main character was insufferable, but I think that is how she was supposed to be. I pre-read this for my kids and while there aren't any content warnings for this book, I didn't enjoy it very much.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little long for a read-a-loud in one setting. Love the illustrations by Katie Thamer Treherne.

[Jordan Litts · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first story by MacDonald that I have read, and I enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the next.

[Pineapplez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this story so much! It’s silly and lighthearted (pun intended), but also it had broken the stereotypes of fairytales and gave the heroine an actual personality! Recommend thie light read.