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The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses
Isabella of Castile
In a twist on the classic fairy tale, a princess in fifteenth century Spain refused to wait to be rescued by a prince but instead chose one for herself. Even then, she would not marry him until they’d reached an agreement that was revolutionary for her time—their marriage would be an equal partnership captured in the To stand as high, as high to stand, Isabella and Ferdinand. This book tells the real and remarkable story of the princess, Isabella of Castile. The partnership that she made with her prince was a happy and successful one. Without her, both Spain and America would not exist as we know them.
Richly illustrated and narrated with humor, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses brings to life the stories of real and remarkable princesses who managed to do what few thought possible.
Richly illustrated and narrated with humor, The Thinking Girl’s Treasury of Real Princesses brings to life the stories of real and remarkable princesses who managed to do what few thought possible.
24 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 2010
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52 people want to read
About the author
Shirin Yim Bridges
22 books28 followersShirin Yim Bridges comes from a family of writers and artists. Her first book, Ruby's Wish, was named one of the Best Children's Books of 2002 by Publishers Weekly, and won the Ezra Jack Keats awards for Best Writer and Best Illustrator in 2003. It is on several state reading lists, has been translated into six languages, and is now in its ninth edition.
Shirin's second book, The Umbrella Queen, made TIME/CNN's Top 10 Lists 2008: Best Children's Books, and was also named one of the Best Children's Books of 2008 by the Bank Street College of Education. The Umbrella Queen has been translated into Chinese and Japanese.
Her third book, Mary Wrightly So Politely, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
In addition to being head goose at Goosebottom Books, Shirin wrote all six books in Goosebottom's first series, The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses. (She's not doing that again! From now on, many geese will be helping her!)
Shirin has lived in many countries around the world, as is reflected in her writing—Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and England. She was educated in the United States and now nests in California.
Shirin's second book, The Umbrella Queen, made TIME/CNN's Top 10 Lists 2008: Best Children's Books, and was also named one of the Best Children's Books of 2008 by the Bank Street College of Education. The Umbrella Queen has been translated into Chinese and Japanese.
Her third book, Mary Wrightly So Politely, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
In addition to being head goose at Goosebottom Books, Shirin wrote all six books in Goosebottom's first series, The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses. (She's not doing that again! From now on, many geese will be helping her!)
Shirin has lived in many countries around the world, as is reflected in her writing—Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and England. She was educated in the United States and now nests in California.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 6, 2019
The third entry in Shirin Yim Bridges' The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses - a six-volume series intended to highlight the lives of influential women royals who ruled in their own right, and who are often (Sorghaghtani of Mongolia, Qutlugh Terkan Khatun of Kirman, Artemisia of Caria) neglected in children's histories - that I have read, Isabella of Castile is a picture-book biography of the Queen who united Spain, negotiated an atypically equal marriage with her royal spouse, King Ferdinand of Aragon, and funded Columbus' historic voyage of discovery in 1492. She also oversaw the Spanish Inquisition, with its terrible repression and atrocities - something I was glad to see was not overlooked, in the book, but discussed in a brief afterword entitled "The not-so-nice part of the story."
Whatever one thinks of the consequences of Isabella's actions, be it in establishing the Inquisition, or funding Columbus' voyages, there can be no doubt that they were very influential, in the course of human history. I really appreciated that both the positive and negative aspects of her story were explored here - I appreciated the fact that her story was being explored at all, since, although Isabella of Castile is a better-known figure in the west, than some of the other princesses profiled in Bridges' series, she is not as well known as she could be. In fact, I don't think I've run into any other children's books about her. Like the other entries in the series, this was illustrated with paintings by Albert Nguyen, photographs, and reproductions of historical paintings.
All in all, this was an engrossing book about a fascinating historical figure, one with whom students should be familiar. Highly recommended to young readers (middle grades and up, I would say) with an interest in history, in Spain, or in royal women.
Whatever one thinks of the consequences of Isabella's actions, be it in establishing the Inquisition, or funding Columbus' voyages, there can be no doubt that they were very influential, in the course of human history. I really appreciated that both the positive and negative aspects of her story were explored here - I appreciated the fact that her story was being explored at all, since, although Isabella of Castile is a better-known figure in the west, than some of the other princesses profiled in Bridges' series, she is not as well known as she could be. In fact, I don't think I've run into any other children's books about her. Like the other entries in the series, this was illustrated with paintings by Albert Nguyen, photographs, and reproductions of historical paintings.
All in all, this was an engrossing book about a fascinating historical figure, one with whom students should be familiar. Highly recommended to young readers (middle grades and up, I would say) with an interest in history, in Spain, or in royal women.
July 3, 2021
Cheers for some gender equality, but boo for the power hungry greed that led to religious and native inequality.
December 1, 2010
This review first appeared on my blog: http://jewelknits.blogspot.com/2010/1...
This is a combined review of both this title and Sorghaghtani of Mongolia, another in the series.
These are wonderful middle-readers (ages 9-13) for the real princesses in your life. Wonderfully illustrated, including photos of related items as well as real portraits of each princess and her prince. There are special pages that illustrate even more interesting facts - "What She Ate", "What She Wore", "Where She Lived" - these add so much because they put the period of each princess' life into more context.
The front of each book is a sort of glossary, explaining some of the unfamiliar words and how to pronounce them.
As I read about Isabella, I wondered if her part in the Spanish Inquisition would be glossed over (it wasn't; the last page of the book tells of her role in that horrible period and lets you know that not all princesses are all good all of the time).
I'd never heard of Sorghaghtani, who at age 11 married Genghis Khan's son Tolui (who was 10 at the time), so you don't have to be a youngster to learn something.
Although the books don't have a lot of pages (one has 24), there is so much of interest bundled into each page that they are well worth having.
These are part of a series of books titled "The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses", which also includes: Hatshepsut of Egypt, Artemisia of Caria, Qutlugh Terkan Khatun of Kirman, and Nur Jahan of India.
All of these books introduce princesses who were able to wield considerable influence, even when women weren't "supposed" to have any power or authority.
If you have a middle-reader, these are definitely books to have on hand. I really really recommend them.
QUOTES:
If it weren't for Isabella, Spain would not be the country it is today, and America would not exist as we know it!
Just like any nomadic group, when it came time to find better pasture for their animals, the whole court packed up and moved. Sorghaghtani's household alone needed more than 100 carts to move all their gers and possessions - the gers perched fully assembled on top of the carts, the Mongolian version of mobile homes.
This is a combined review of both this title and Sorghaghtani of Mongolia, another in the series.
These are wonderful middle-readers (ages 9-13) for the real princesses in your life. Wonderfully illustrated, including photos of related items as well as real portraits of each princess and her prince. There are special pages that illustrate even more interesting facts - "What She Ate", "What She Wore", "Where She Lived" - these add so much because they put the period of each princess' life into more context.
The front of each book is a sort of glossary, explaining some of the unfamiliar words and how to pronounce them.
As I read about Isabella, I wondered if her part in the Spanish Inquisition would be glossed over (it wasn't; the last page of the book tells of her role in that horrible period and lets you know that not all princesses are all good all of the time).
I'd never heard of Sorghaghtani, who at age 11 married Genghis Khan's son Tolui (who was 10 at the time), so you don't have to be a youngster to learn something.
Although the books don't have a lot of pages (one has 24), there is so much of interest bundled into each page that they are well worth having.
These are part of a series of books titled "The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses", which also includes: Hatshepsut of Egypt, Artemisia of Caria, Qutlugh Terkan Khatun of Kirman, and Nur Jahan of India.
All of these books introduce princesses who were able to wield considerable influence, even when women weren't "supposed" to have any power or authority.
If you have a middle-reader, these are definitely books to have on hand. I really really recommend them.
QUOTES:
If it weren't for Isabella, Spain would not be the country it is today, and America would not exist as we know it!
Just like any nomadic group, when it came time to find better pasture for their animals, the whole court packed up and moved. Sorghaghtani's household alone needed more than 100 carts to move all their gers and possessions - the gers perched fully assembled on top of the carts, the Mongolian version of mobile homes.
February 3, 2013
I love the idea of "The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses" because I think it's good to temper the fairy tale vision of princesses with what real-life princesses are/were like. Isabella is portrayed as a very strong woman who challenged the assumptions of women's roles at that time. Admittedly, this one is a complex subject and the author did a nice job of putting Isabella in a historical context (including food and dress) and describing why she was unusual for her time. The author does address the brutality of Isabella's reign such as the Spanish Inquisition and "discovery" of the Americas but not in much detail, making this suitable for a younger audience as well as could provide a nice jumping off point to discuss these points with an older audience. I look forward to reading more in this series.
My only quibble is that she called Granada "Grenada" throughout the whole book which bugged me.
My only quibble is that she called Granada "Grenada" throughout the whole book which bugged me.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews