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Princess Backwards

by Jane Gray, Liz Milkau, illus.

Princess Fred (yes, Fred; she’s the daughter of King Nancy and Queen David) lives in a comical medieval land where backwards is normal. People greet each other with “You see to nice!”; signs hang upside-down; court jesters juggle behind themselves. Nonetheless, the kingdom functions well enough, until Marvin the fire-breathing dragon arrives to terrorize them. Shooting backwards over their shoulders, the castle guards – not surprisingly – fail to hit Marvin with their arrows.

At this point, Princess Fred, exasperated with trying to walk backwards, declares, “I give up, I’ll always be different!” She runs forward through the castle gates, and hurls a bucketful of water into Marvin’s “flaming, dragonly mouth.” As Queen David, King Nancy, and the others gawk in dread, the dragon stops cold, then bellows out fervent thanks, with a funny explanation of how hard it’s been to have a burning mouth all these years – scorching his toothbrush bristles being the least of his difficulties. And so Princess Backwards saves the day.

The story stands well enough alone without the addition of the moral that it’s okay to be different, but “different is a lovely thing to be” can always open up discussion with children. Because only a few of the backwards activities of the kingdom are shown, there’s plenty of opportunity for kids to invent more of their own. This book would be both delightful and useful in a classroom.

Author Jane Gray, a teacher-librarian in British Columbia, has written a rhythmic story with excellent pacing that can be read out loud very well. And illustrator Liz Milkau brings a lively, bright style to this, her first children’s book.

 

Reviewer: Loris Lesynski

Publisher: Second Story Press

DETAILS

Price: $14.95

Page Count: 32 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 1-896764-64-9

Released: Sept.

Issue Date: 2002-11

Categories: Picture Books

Age Range: ages 5-9

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