The Princess Rules

Princess Florizella #1-3

by Philippa Gregory, Chris Chatterton (Illustrator)

Princess Florizella may live in a classic fairy-tale world, but she’s no ordinary princess…

These three stories were originally published under the titles Princess Florizella, Princess Florizella and the Wolves and Princess Florizella and the Giant.

They were originally dedicated to her daughter but have been reimagined in this edition which she has dedicated to her grandchildren.

“Princess Florizella was friends with some of the princesses who had studied the Princess Rules, and behaved just as the Rules said they should. Florizella thought their hair was so golden and so very long. And their clothes were so richly embroidered. And their shoes were so tiny and handmade in silk. But their days bored her to death…”

Instead, Princess Florizella rides her horse, Jellybean, all over the kingdom, having adventures of her own…

“…perfect for newish readers who are gaining confidence and ready for a challenge”  The Times Review

“These are enchanting, simply written stories that have lost none of their pertinence – and this timely new edition deserves to win Florizella another generation of admirers.” 5 star review in the Saturday Telegraph

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Childrens, Middle Grade, Princesses, Feminism, Fairy Tales

257 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 14, 2019

About the author

DR PHILIPPA GREGORY studied history at the University of Sussex and was awarded a PhD by the University of Edinburgh where she is a Regent and was made Alumna of the Year in 2009. She holds an honorary degree from Teesside University, and is a fellow of the Universities of Sussex and Cardiff. Philippa is a member of the Society of Authors and in 2016, was presented with the Outstanding Contribution to Historical Fiction Award by the Historical Writers’ Association. In 2018, she was awarded an Honorary Platinum Award by Neilsen for achieving significant lifetime sales across her entire book output. In 2021, she was awarded a CBE for services to literature and to her charity Gardens for the Gambia. and was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.

She welcomes visitors to her site www.PhilippaGregory.com.

Philippa's Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/PhilippaGregoryOfficial

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic fairytale world. . .But she's no ordinary princess

The gorgeous red cover of this book beckoned to me from the stacks and I brought it home. It did not disappoint. Princess Florizella is not your traditional princess. Don't bother having ivy grow up the side of the castle beneath her window. She doesn't need a prince to climb up and rescue her. She'll come down when she is ready and probably to hop on the back of her faithful pony Jellybean. This volume was released with the first three Florizella books inside. I loved, loved, loved the illustrations by Chris Chatterton. This would be the perfect next read for kids who are growing out of The Princess in Black series. Because Princess is Prince with an S for Sass and one for Spirit.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...

Whilst Gregory may be known for her epic novels on Tudor England (of which I have yet to start reading!), here this is a great princess book that should delight many young girls out there. The language is not too complicated, the font size is large and there are still illustrations dotted throughout the book to keep young readers interested.

For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...

[Lisa (Remarkablylisa) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming in some parts! I really enjoyed a few stories in this collection of stories but some were unbearable... I did not care for some.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks Harper Collins 360!

I accepted this book because, after reading the synopsis, I really wanted a book to pass down to my two nieces—one that we could talk about after we have all read it. This book did not disappoint.

The book was broke down into three individual stories surrounding Princess Florizella. In the first story, Flori (the nickname that I gave her) attended a ball in which she became best friends with Prince Bennett instead of his wife. In the second story, Flori made a special connection with a family of wolves and wanted to do right by them because they chose not to eat her when they first met. Finally, in the third story, Flori and her best friend Bennett helped a feared Giant get safely back home.

The positives: I thought Flori was an excellent character to follow. I was so invested in her adventures that I finished this book in one day. I also found the writing style to be hilarious—I actually laughed out loud several times. When Flori was stealing steaks from the castle’s kitchen, I literally chuckled. And then when the king and Queen thought she was hexed and turning into a lion, I slapped a knee and smiled so hard. Also, I liked the breakdown of all the stories. How each one was unique in its own way, but still told the bigger picture of who Flori was. Finally, I loved the beautiful illustrations throughout the book. Any child reading this will LOVE these artistic details.

The negatives: I did not like the last story as much as the first two. I felt like it was wayyyyy too long and at times really boring, which is why I gave this book a 4 in the end. Finally, I really disliked Flori’s name...I felt like her real name was silly and I hated saying it—which is why I shortened it to Flori.

[Ioana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Regulile Prințesei este cartea cu care am făcut cunoștință cu stilul captivant al scriitoarei Philippa Gregory.
Volumul este împărțit în 3 povestiri, centrate în jurul unei tinere domnițe ce preferă să spună ce gândește și să se pregătească pentru a fi un lider conștiincios al poporului decât să petreacă toată ziua pe scaunul de coafură sau să se înfometeze pentru pețitori. Așa se face că Florizella are parte de nenumărate aventuri ce îi conturează caracterul de femeie independentă, blândă și responsabilă. Am scris mai multe despre carte perfectă pentru micuțele cititoarele într-un articol publicat pe blog.

„O prințesă e un prinț cu esă în plus.„

https://ciobanuldeazi.home.blog/2023/...

[Sara Strand · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this with my five and almost four year old daughters and they really loved it. It made for a great bedtime read with them but we also had some great conversations on what they thought about the stories. (It's never too early to work on reading comprehension and ask them to dig deeper!) I loved the part where the princess says that a princess is just a prince with extra s's and goes on to say what those s's could be for (like sass, spirit, etc). What a perfect statement to put in a girl's mind. The entire book is full of adventures and my girls had such a great time, they laughed and were rooting for Florizella, and it was a great read.

[Baš · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toto bolo krásne :D kúpila som ako darček, ale najskôr sama prečítala 😅

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meet Princess Florizella, she is unlike any princess in her stories.


I spotted this adorable and fun looking book at the library and knew it had to come with me to home. And I am happy I did because this was a fun book featuring 3 stories (which is a surprise as I thought it was just one big book) about a princess named Florizella. Stories in which dragons and giants take part and there are princes and tons of adventures. I had tons of fun reading this one and I loved reading about this wonderful kingdom which sounds like a dream to live in. And Florizella has all the adventures with her cute horse called Jellybean and Prince Bennett who slowly has learned not to go for marriage. XD One of my favourite stories was definitely that one with the wolves and I loved Bennett’s creativity given one of the cubs.

However, the reason why I rated it 4 stars instead of the 4.5 is because at times it just felt like it was trying to hard and I got a bit tired of Florizella constantly reminding us she was not an ordinary princess and reminding us that she was more like a prince just with two extra s’s. Not to mention the way the other princesses and fairy tale endings were mentioned. I mean, I am all for having a fun story featuring a princess who isn’t acting like one and has parents who are mostly OK with it or just shrug and continue what they are doing, but no need to keep on talking about it on and on and on and on and act like the other princesses are just weird and fairy tale endings are not the way to go. Just let people do what they want.

I loved the illustrations and they were just too much fun. I loved seeing the world and the characters.

All in all, despite that thing I mentioned I had tons of fun reading this book and I am happy that I had a chance to read it. Thanks to my library for adding it to their collection.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Victoria Harding · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is basically 3 stories in 1 book. Story 1 was great, Florizella is not an ordinary princess and won't follow the princess rules. Traditional gender and class roles are challenged and it's an interesting funny story. Story 2 is ok, Florizella trying unsuccessfully to hide some wolf cubs.
The third story is about a giant and the majority of the book revolves around a joke about a small child having a lisp, with one of the main characters finding it so hilarious he has to hide his laughter. Every time the child speaks, her speech is written as 'th' instead of an 's', e.g. 'Thummer' instead of 'Summer'. The book ends with both main characters doing a 'joke lisp'. I imagine that if your child had a speech impediment that you'd spent their whole life trying to grow their confidence, this would be fairly devastating. I used this book to explain to my 4 and 6 yr olds that speech problems are never funny and we dont laugh at other people.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Princess Florizella gets a baby brother and is informed that he will one day be king she decides that she will no longer follow the princess rules and instead goes around her kingdom having adventure.

As an adult I had a good laugh over some of the situations and I can see some kids finding the humor as well. This is collection of early readers in a larger book form though I think it leans more towards a transitional reader than a true early reader. A good recommendation for someone who likes princesses and is looking for some feminist messaging.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids really enjoyed The Princess in Black series and they have LOVED the 3 short stories in The Princess Rules. The stories are cute, modern, and thought provoking which led to some nice discussions to work on reading comprehension. We will most certainly be reading these stories again.

[Betsy Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter and I read this book together. We really enjoyed the stories, with the first story being our favorite.

[Ani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ez valami őrülten cuki, király, viccces, átlagon felüli, kirívóan izgalmas, nem átlagos hercegnős sztori. <3

[DW]

My daughter and I read this together. Lots of fun. A nice way to build confidence in readers.

[Katy Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modern sentiment, breezy and original.

This reminded me of Judy Corbalis' 'The Wrestling Princess', a title I enjoyed as a 10 year old. In the same vein, this features a princess who will simply not obey the fairytale 'rules' of the daughters of kings. And her life is all the more interesting for it.

Princess Florizella has a mother, the queen, who "was particularly neglectful - she completely failed ot due and leave her daughter to a cruel stepmother to make her herd geese or sit in the cinders." Readers will enjoy recognising such conventions of the fairytale genre and seeing them turned on their head. WIth the princess herself at the heart of this subversion: she "grew up into a cheerful, noisy, bossy, happy girl who spend her mornings on her horse called Jellybean, and her afternoons working with them in the royal office." In other words, she's a young woman with a full life, a strong personality and varied interests. Totally opposite to the usual archetype. Even male readers might be impressed.

I particularly enjoyed this line:
"'A princess is just a prince with more s's', she replied. The king thought for a moment. 'What does the s's stand for?' 'Sass,' she said. 'Sass and science, sensibility and scepticism. Sincerity, spirit and certainty.'" Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Gregory knows what contemporary readers and parents want (and need) to hear.

This is a reissue of three previously published Florizella stories, brought together, though it was the first time I'd heard of them. I thoroughly enjoyed the breezy tales of princes, dragons and adventures that actually need a princess to solve/complete/triumph in.

As an adult, I was entertained, and I expect boys and girls, aged around 7-12 will feel the same.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing an advance reading copy.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. It's 3 stories in one book about a princess, Florizella, who doesn't follow the rules of fairy tale princesses. The first story, that sets up the whole premise was the best. It reminded me a little of The Ordinary Princess in tone. There's some nice humor, like commenting that the queen was careless not to have died so Florizella could have a wicked stepmother, like a proper fairytale princess. And the story itself, while not wildly original (by this time, a princess with agency isn't unusual) was still well told and charming. And at 73 pages, was a pretty decent size for a children's book.

The problem was the two other stories. They were also the length of short books. And while they were cute and all, they just seemed of less quality than the first one. On their own, they could have been fine (although the ending of the last story just kind of fizzled out) but being tied together with the first one, it was clear how they paled in comparison. So, four stars for the first story, and three for the last two.

[Ramona Cantaragiu · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of Philippa Gregory's books for adults so I had high hopes for this one. I've read many retellings of fairy tales in which the usual tropes are subverted and some really do not work. However, Gregory does a swell job in this one. Florizella is a princess not like the others, she does not abide by the princess rules, she is preparing to rule her kingdom by herself, she is outspoken, witty and, very important, charming. She does everything with the type of grace expected from an independent female character, she does not hurt the feelings of others and she does not act like a spoilt brat who thinks she is special just because she acts differently. She befriends the prince, she saves a giant, she saves a pack of wolves, she treats her parents with the right level of respect but she also does her thing. The volume contains three stories and all worked well, they were fun to read, full of adventure and they made my feel all giddy and playful. I would recommend this wholeheartedly if you are looking to give your child something to read that sounds like a fairytale but is not filled with the usual tropes (no stepmother, no nasty parents, no princesses in distress, no nasty curses etc.).

[Jess Witkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

For fans of The Princess in Black series, here's your next read. One book with 3 shorter chapter stories all about Princess Florizella. This is a light, fun, and funny read with feminist flair. There were a few moments at the beginning where I wondered if this was really up to good feminism par, and you have to read through the first chapter because the opening describes the world Florizella lives in, which leads the reader to think it's your typical fairytale world where princesses follow certain rules and kings have all the power. However, when you keep going, you find that Florizella defies "The Princess Rules" and has her own mind and her own talents and strengths.

A great co-read aloud with short chapters or a fun one to introduce to your daughters and friends. As they say in the book, a princess is just a prince with two S's. What do the S's stand for? Sass and science and sensibility and skepticism and sincerity and spirit.

[Vanessa Thiago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, Vanessa, mas você lê livro infantil? Siiiiiiiim.
E gente, é Philippa Gregory. Eu leio até a lista de compras dela se ela resolver disponibilizar.
Como não ser uma princesa é a coisa mais fofa do mundo inteiro. Florizella é a princesinha mais da pá virada que já vi. Achei a forma como ela resolve o "destino marcado" muito simples: não quero, não faço.
Florizella quer mais é cavalgar com seu amigo, o príncipe Bennet, desafiando o Código das Princesas, pensando em como vai cuidar de um reino quando crescer e caçando as confusões mais loucas possíveis, como criar um bando de lobinhos e ajudar um gigante em uma enrascada.
Se eu recomendo? Eu já comprei o livro dois hahahahah. Só uma coisa não foi legal: acaba muito rápido. E não, não é um livro pequeninho, tem um tamanho razoável, ilustrações lindas e vale cada página.

Livro 34/2024
Nota 5/5

#comonãoserumaprincesa
#philippagregory
#harperkids
#harpercollinsbrasil
#paratodasasidades
#princesa
#contosdefadas
#contosnãoconvencionais

[Jean Huber Bookmama789 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to @harpercollins for sending us this ARC of The Princess Rules by Philippa Gregory! Bothmy daughter Lilly and I really enjoyed this collection of short stories about Princess Florizella and her adventures in the Seven Kingdoms.

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What Lilly liked most: Princess Florizella doesn’t follow the Princess rules and instead does things that make her happy. She doesn’t even give in to the pressure of marrying the prince her parents want her to marry. Instead she decides to be his best friend. Lilly also says that she loved that the Princess doesn’t need to be saved but instead is the one doing the saving in most parts of the stories. Lilly says she would recommend this to kids in elementary school who like fairy tales and adventure stories.

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These stories were originally written for Philippa Gregory’s daughter,but have now been reimagined and illustrated for her grandchildren. On sale now!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it! It had a fun sense of adventure, and it had differentiation. Each of the three sections of the book was different, and fun! I like that it added in that there was a Princess Rulebook, and one for princes, queens, and probably kings. The main character, Princess Florizella's role was fun, silly, and all together AMAZING. You know I liked this book if I gave it 5 stars, because I don't give 5 to just any good book. This book made me want to keep on reading. I can't wait to get to read the second one, except I don't know whether it's already out or not. I couldn't believe how they made such an amazing book, with such a big plot, out of a small idea! I love writing, and I think this book in particular is my favorite idea, I loved it so much! I highly suggest it if you like twisting plots, adventures, and all the other amazing details of this book!

[Zoey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princess Florizella doesn’t follow the “Princess Rules,” so she attends a ball with no intention of marrying the prince. She spends the night in a den of wolves, and tries to raise the baby wolves in her palace bedroom. She and her best friend, Prince Bennett, must save the kingdom from a lost and destructive giant. While the premise of these stories is sort of a “girls can do anything” rebuttal to the traditional fairy tale, it was the detail of Gregory’s storytelling that made for fun reading aloud. My seven-year-old daughter enjoyed the story of the wolves best. My five-year-old son thought the giant story was “fun” while the wolves story “looked fun, was fun, and also, I loved it.” The Princess Rules champions bravery, resourcefulness, friendship, responsibility, care for others, and being yourself.

[Nadia | Mon Vàng Vàng · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,4/5 stars
It was a fun book and indeed really suitable for children for even a fairytale story. I had a quick reading after accidentally founding out about this book. It told us amazing stories about a one-and-only princess - princess Florizella of the Seven Kingdoms. If I could say anything about her, I'd say she's an unique princess who you've never thought of, she's brave, confident, out-going and have a beautiful heart. She's clearly a firm evidence, a role model for a new definition about princess - and isn't that the thing we always say to the young one: making your own definition.
So I did had a good time reading this book, although it was a little bit childish to my age but I really enjoyed it.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the first story. The second and third followed close.

Princess Florizella is not your typical princess with her horse, Jellybean.
All other princesses follow the rules.
Like princesses don't eat in the mornings, they eat air lol and by the time they are dressed it's lunchtime, by then they're also too tired to do anything.
They wait to be saved by a prince, and they agree with everything.
It's absolutely boring.
So when the prince invites all the princesses to the ball, She goes , not to see the prince but to see the other princesses and eat the food lol
She makes an unlikely friend
Here, she makes a deal, to be his best friend as she declines his proposal.
Together, they find themselves in adventures with dragons, wolves, and giants.

[Nicola · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss 6 listened to this as an audiobook and enjoyed it. Refreshing to have a princess telling an aggrieved prince that she most definitely does not want to sit around just waiting to be rescued by a man nor does she want to get married just yet so his proposal is most certainly NOT met by universal rejoicing.

Miss 6 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Jacqueline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't aware Phillips Gregory wrote childrens books until this new 2020 version of books first written between 1991 and 1998 was released.
It is a book of three stories about sassy Princess Florizella who lives in the land of fairytale but does not obey the Princess Rules and acts more like a Prince than a Princess.
The stories are well written, humorous fun, encouraging children to be different.
I genuinely enjoyed reading them.
Suitable for self readers age 7 and above, there is no offensive material.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book by stellar Philippa Gregory for all ages that fights for gender equality and defies traditional gender constructs. Princess Florizella is a princess in her own right who slays dragons, befriends giants, and rebels against the patriarchy in her own kingdom and abroad. With her noble steed Jellybean and best friend Prince Bennett, Florizella goes on grand adventures and proves to all that she can do anything a boy can. It was such a joy to read this and very refreshing to see contemporary authors spread the message of female empowerment to the next generation.

[Jessica Liza]

Not my cup of tea. Didn’t love the feminist agenda (fine except simultaneously making the boy feel stupid. Can’t we have one without the other?!) And don’t like the lisp - well the jokes about the lisp. (Senhor civic) I do love the illustrations though and the bright cover color. They are what drew me in the first place.

[Yolanda K. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun look at fairytales!

Phillippa Gregory gently pokes fun at all the unspoken rules and messages of fairytale stories. Her main character uses her wits and kooky personality to face some messy adventures. The book makes you laugh at what was considered normal for kids and thinking differently is a better way for everyone to look at the world. Have fun!

[Nimisha Subramanian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a fairytale book with just the right amount of rebel and and ‘magic’.With a prince,a rebellious princess and parents who desperately wanted a son but got a daughter instead.This book is funny,entertaining and shows that rules are meant to be broken!