Princess Grace
Mary Hoffman, Cornelius Van Wright (Illustrator), Ying-Hwa HuBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
This year two girls will be selected as princesses in the town parade, and Grace can't wait to be one of them. It's the perfect opportunity to dress up-but how, exactly, should a princess costume look? Grace asks her teacher for help, and soon the whole class is learning that there's more to princesses than pink dresses and frills. From Kenya to China and from warriors to spies, princesses are a multicultural and multitalented bunch, and there are just as many kinds of happily ever afters-both for the royals and for Grace's community and its princess parade.
Mary Hoffman's picture books featuring this intrepid heroine have earned major critical acclaim; amongst other awards, Amazing Grace was a Reading Rainbow selection and a Booklist Editors? Choice. Grace's latest adventure is sure to delight her established fans-and win the hearts of many more!
Synopsis
This year two girls will be selected as princesses in the town parade, and Grace can't wait to be one of them. It's the perfect opportunity to dress up—but how, exactly, should a princess costume look? Grace asks her teacher for help, and soon the whole class is learning that there's more to princesses than pink dresses and frills. From Kenya to China and from warriors to spies, princesses are a multicultural and multitalented bunch, and there are just as many kinds of happily ever afters—both for the royals and for Grace's community and its princess parade.
Mary Hoffman's picture books featuring this intrepid heroine have earned major critical acclaim; amongst other awards, Amazing Grace was a Reading Rainbow selection and a Booklist Editors' Choice. Grace's latest adventure is sure to delight her established fans—and win the hearts of many more!
Children's Literature
When Grace, the irrepressible African American heroine of Hoffman's other tales, learns that there will be two princesses chosen from her class for the community festival parade, she gets excited. She has always wanted to be a princess. As she and her friends try to figure out what kind of costume she needs, Grace discovers that there are many kinds of princesses, not just those in fairy tales. As the students and their families discuss princes and princesses, Grace thinks she might like to be an African princess from Gambia, with Kente cloth from Africa for her outfit. Finally, Grace's school has the most interesting float in the parade; the students dress as princes and princesses from all over the world. And Grace is a "proper princess—ready for an adventure." As visualized in naturalistic scenes in school and home, the focus is on the individual girls and boys. The drama comes from the discussion and anticipation, as well as from Grace's Nana, who must create her dress. The visual climax is a double-page spread of the float and surrounding crowds with Grace in her striking African robe. Grace's world is "multicultural"; on the front cover, she smiles as a tiara-topped traditional "princess" and on the back she smiles and waves as the African princess. What a neat solution to the difficult task of choosing only two students for the float! Notes lead the reader to princesses from other places and provide information about Kente cloth. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz
Editorials
Children's Literature -
When Grace, the irrepressible African American heroine of Hoffman's other tales, learns that there will be two princesses chosen from her class for the community festival parade, she gets excited. She has always wanted to be a princess. As she and her friends try to figure out what kind of costume she needs, Grace discovers that there are many kinds of princesses, not just those in fairy tales. As the students and their families discuss princes and princesses, Grace thinks she might like to be an African princess from Gambia, with Kente cloth from Africa for her outfit. Finally, Grace's school has the most interesting float in the parade; the students dress as princes and princesses from all over the world. And Grace is a "proper princess—ready for an adventure." As visualized in naturalistic scenes in school and home, the focus is on the individual girls and boys. The drama comes from the discussion and anticipation, as well as from Grace's Nana, who must create her dress. The visual climax is a double-page spread of the float and surrounding crowds with Grace in her striking African robe. Grace's world is "multicultural"; on the front cover, she smiles as a tiara-topped traditional "princess" and on the back she smiles and waves as the African princess. What a neat solution to the difficult task of choosing only two students for the float! Notes lead the reader to princesses from other places and provide information about Kente cloth. Reviewer: Ken Marantz and Sylvia MarantzSchool Library Journal
K-Gr 2
A fresh story for fans of all things princess, by the author of Amazing Grace (Dial, 1991). Two girls from Grace's class will be chosen to appear in the town parade as princesses. While researching the fairy-tale frills of royal attire, Grace realizes that she doesn't know what a princess does besides look pretty and wear beautiful clothing. She asks her teacher and discovers fascinating, true, long-ago warrior princesses like Amina, who lived in Zaria (now Nigeria), and Pin-Yang of China. She and her classmates convince their teacher to reconsider the school's float, which ultimately allows all of the children to represent different types of princes and princesses. Hoffman's crisp storytelling encourages further reading of the tales Grace encounters, and the author again uses the lightest touch to provide a lesson. The paintings combine flowing realism with traces of anime during the girl's reading. The multiethnic cast and variety of composition make every page worth extended viewing.
—Gay Lynn Van VleckCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.