How to Become a Perfect Princess in Five Days

by Pierrette Dubé, Luc Melanson (Illustrator)

Princess Stringbean isn’t your average princess. She isn’t prim and proper and would rather go for a run than sit inside and stay unsoiled and pretty. The Queen sends Princess Stringbean to a school to turn her into a perfect princess. Hilarity ensues as Princess Stringbean tries to fit in and be the flawless princess that her mother wants, until she realizes she’s pretty perfect—just as she is.

Genres: Picture Books, Princesses, Royalty

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Née à Valleyfield (Québec) en 1952, Pierrette Dubé complète des études en lettres à l'Université de Montréal et en traduction à l'Université McGill. Après quoi, elle est correctrice d'épreuves et réviseure à la revue Sélection du Reader's Digest. Depuis 1990, elle est traductrice au gouvernement canadien.

Pierrette Dubé a publié une dizaine d’albums dont le premier en 1988, Le roi Gédéon, paru aux Éditions du Raton Laveur. Elle a collaboré à un collectif de nouvelles et a participé à la rédaction de manuels scolaires. Certaines de ses nouvelles ont été publiées dans des magazines. C'est en découvrant la littérature jeunesse avec ses enfants qu'elle a eu le goût d'écrire. Elle aime qu’un conte soit rythmé, comme une chanson (Mademoiselle Gertrude - Éditions du Raton Laveur - 1989). Ses personnages sont parfois parents avec ceux des contes de fées avec des rois et des princesses (Comment devenir une parfaite princesse en 5 jours - Éditions Imagine - 2006). Cependant, il lui arrive aussi de mettre en scène des enfants aux prises avec des petits problèmes de la vie quotidienne (Nom de nom! - Éditions du Raton Laveur - 1992 et Maman s’est perdue - Les 400 coups - 2005). Elle considère que même dans la vie quotidienne, la fantaisie et l’humour ne sont jamais bien loin : c’est ainsi qu’on trouve parfois un papa égaré au rayon des objets perdus…

En 1985, on lui décernait le troisième prix au Concours de nouvelles à la radio de Radio-Canada. En 1996, Pierrette Dubé a reçu le Prix du livre M. Christie pour Au lit, princesse Émilie!, paru aux Éditions du Raton Laveur en 1995. Nom de nom! et Au lit, princesse Émilie ont fait partie du Palmarès Communication Jeunesse des livres préférés des jeunes.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't really like this. There are some things you can't control about yourself, like my daughter has uncombable hair syndrome, so I get the hair thing, but your manners are something you work on, not something where you say "that's just how I am." So I didn't like the message of this book. Also I didn't like the way the dresses stuck out.

[Davanh Souvanarath]

This story was a great story about a princess whose mother wanted to become a perfect princess. Princess stringbean did everything a perfect princess did not. She fell asleep during long speeches, ate large amounts of food and ran down the steps. Although she did not do those things, no one could run as fast as her. I chose this story for my girl empowerment text set because it identifies a girl doing things that are not "princess like" and shows that it is okay to be different. The illustrations supported the text but did not show diversity at all. Princess string bean looked different than the other princesses but there were no other ethnic groups represented. I thought it was an easy story to follow along with and the moral of the story was made quite clear. This book is sort of a fictional fairytale.

[Jason · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's not entirely this book's fault that it was the straw that broke the camel's back, the camel being my tolerance for princesses-who-break-the-mold-but-are-forced-to-conform-only-to-fail-and-teach-everyone-around-them-to-accept-them-as-they-are books. The thing that always bothers me is that they go to these princess schools and ALL the other girls are doing everything right. the obvious question is WHY ARE THESE GIRLS IN PRINCESS SCHOOL TO BEGIN WITH? Especially a five-day crash course, which is usually designed for folks who are looking for a quick fix, i.e. folks who AREN'T ALREADY GOOD AT WHAT THEY TAKING A COURSE IN.
Sigh. Sorry. There's only so many of these same stories I can take.

[Peggy Archer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was not in Princess Stringbean’s nature to walk with dainty steps or keep her hair and her dresses looking neat and perfect. The moment her feet hit the dirt, she's off and running! What else can a royal mother do but send her daughter to Perfect Princess Academy. When the class is over, Princess Stringbean receives a full refund from the academy instead of a diploma, but she manages to bring home a trophy that make her mother proud. A nice twist on a ‘princess’ story that shows that everyone, even a princess, has their own special talents.

[Mickey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princess Stringbean loves to run. But running isn't princess-like, so her mother decides to send her to a class guaranteed to make her into the perfect princess. Poor Stringbean just can't get the hang of her classes and is sent home in apparent disgrace. But when she accidentally joins a race and wins, the queen realizes that her daughter is the perfect princess just as she is!

[Crystal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was fine. It looked like the text was done on a "do-it-yourself" kind of book maker though.