THE ORDINARY PRINCE

Some of my favorite elements were Mr. Pemberthy the squirrel and Peter Aurelious the crow. I always wanted a pet squirrel when I was little! And the "You can't spank a princess," scene was absolutely precious. Mar 15, Emma Clifton rated it it was amazing. What a delightful and sweet little book!

The Ordinary Prince

I do love epic stories with action and danger and adventure, but now and then, I need something that's just happy and adorable. This book is a perfect spring read! Nov 12, TheBookSmugglers rated it liked it Shelves: Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers Once upon a time, there was a faraway kingdom called Phantasmorania, ruled by a benevolent King and Queen. This happy royal couple was also blessed with the birth of six beautiful daughters, each princess more beautiful than the last, with rippling blonde hair, jewel blue eyes, and the fairest complexions of palest cream.

One fine day, the roy Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers Once upon a time, there was a faraway kingdom called Phantasmorania, ruled by a benevolent King and Queen. One fine day, the royal cannon boomed out twenty times, signifying the birth of a seventh princess, much to the delight of the townspeople, for it was common knowledge that the seventh princess was a good omen, and destined to be the most beautiful of them all.

To celebrate the birth of their seventh child, the King and Queen decided to throw a grand celebration, and invited all of the fairies of the land in the hopes that they would bestow delightful and useful presents on their youngest child. And bestow these fine gifts the fairies did - Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne was given Charm and Wit and Grace and Courage, and many other similar traits besides, heaped on her already quite beauteous and sweet-tempered head of gold curls. But then, the most powerful fairy god-mother in the land - the prickly older fairy Crustacea with a notorious temper - bestowed her final gift on young Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne: Good gracious, poor child!

Well, thank goodness my magic is stronger than anyone else's. She raised her twisty coral stick and waved it three times over the cradle of the seventh princess. You shall be Ordinary! Her angelic disposition immediately became that of a normal cranky baby, her golden curls darkened and straightened, her complexion turned mottled and then freckled. As the years passed, she simply became known as Princess Amy - Ordinary, but happy, and far more interested in escaping to the woods to play than in the tedious rigors of court life, embroidering, or husband-finding.

When all of Amy's sisters have been married off, however, and the princely prospects for the very Ordinary Amy look slim, her parents decide to resort to drastic measures to trick a prince into marrying the last daughter the good old throw her in an isolated tower protected by a dragon scheme. Rather than endure that nonsense, Amy decides to run away - and embarks on an adventure that will lead to another kingdom, where she will find happiness, hard work, and someone who may be just as wonderfully Ordinary as she.

Originally published in , The Ordinary Princess is a charming, delightful little middle grade book. Taking the very familiar tropes of fairy tales - the beautiful princesses with hair of spun gold and eyes of sky blue, gifted with all the riches and graces in the land - and gives them a very overt twist. Kaye poses a very interesting question in The Ordinary Princess , because no matter how beautiful these traditional fairy tale princesses may be, wouldn't their lives be so very boring?

How dull and unfulfilling would it be to be have everything given to you, to be forced into always acting properly and looking beautiful?

With heroine Princess Amy - who is still quite gifted with Grace and Health and Wit and all those other good things, mind you - we see how beauty can be overrated, and that happiness comes from the choices one makes and not what one looks like. While the message is hardly subtle, it's an important one and one that is done well in this delightful book.

There is a very linear, predictable nature to this story - and in that way it is in fact a perfect fairy tale.

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I'm reminded of Philip Pullman's own words in Tales from the Brothers Grimm regarding the essential components of a great fairy tale: Characters do not need to be deeply nuanced or layered, and actions like falling in love are simple milestones that happen quickly, without elaboration or explanation. And in a book that is so clearly paying homage to the traditional folk tale, The Ordinary Princess certainly excels, telling a very different variation of a familiar princess story while adhering to the key ingredients that make a fairy tale successful.

And that, dear readers, is thanks to voice. The most impressive and delightful thing about The Ordinary Princess is its narrative skill with words and that storyteller's voice - there is humor aplenty, charm in abundance, as well as the proper fairy tale-ish type of cadence and style. In under pages? This is no small feat, but one that M. Kaye has accomplished so convincingly. It's easy for me to see why this particular book is so beloved; for even if the elements are simple and familiar, sometimes the simple and familiar are all you need.

Definitely recommended for anyone looking for a quick, refreshingly sweet and fun read. Oct 22, Jeanette rated it liked it. It's cute and sweet, with a worthy premise. It was released in the 's with a YA designation for teens?? To me, it would be preteen audience fare, even in that era. Some of the names and the fairy tale grandiose designations for some of the under characters!

I rather think this dates the whole and in an age tech ravaged children might not fly quite on the same path intended to this frolic. Maybe I'm wrong but it is SO simple a tale that the cutesy-cutesy names might seem almost babyish to the It's cute and sweet, with a worthy premise. Maybe I'm wrong but it is SO simple a tale that the cutesy-cutesy names might seem almost babyish to the majority currently.

The story line is fun and would be a short story length read for a 9 year old's challenge? About that age and probably much more liked by those who hold the rather traditional gender values, I would think. Amy works but as a kitchen maid. Amy certainly doesn't become a coal heaver. Feb 26, Ekaterina rated it it was amazing Shelves: This is such a cute and lovely book! This book is one of my favorite books because every time I read the book, I know that I will feel happy reading the book. I also love how the book is like a breath of fresh air.

It's like the original fairy tales, but it is fun and light. It isn't dark like some fairy tales. Awww, that was so cute! Jun 03, Cathleen rated it it was amazing Shelves: A vintage treasure I found at a yard sale! Found in a charity shop, so reread again. Didn't know this as a child, but I've read it at least three times as an adult to try to make it up to young me. Jun 30, Chelsea rated it it was amazing Shelves: One of my all-time favorite books, and one I reread regularly. When Princess Amethyst is born, her slightly creepy agreeableness prompts the oldest and crankiest of the fairies to give her the gift of ordinariness.

And what a gift! Amy's fate suddenly takes a sharp turn, which results in mistaken identities, dragons, fake portraits, jewelry made from trees, and grandly named woodland animals. Charming, quirky, and one of those rare books that presents a fully-formed world quite removed from our One of my all-time favorite books, and one I reread regularly.

Charming, quirky, and one of those rare books that presents a fully-formed world quite removed from our own. A must read for anyone who likes fairy tales, or seeing fairy tales turned on their head. Sep 29, Set rated it it was amazing Shelves: I love this book. It was my favorite book as a child.

At the baby princess's christening, she is given the blessing of being an ordinary princess.

She is starting to reach the age of marriage and her parents are worried about her. I don't want to give up too much info but it won't disappoint. Apr 18, Chi rated it it was amazing Shelves: I hadn't read this in years, but when I found it again, I finished it in one sitting. I'm glad to find and report that this book is still as sweet, charming, and wonderful as it was when I first read it as a teenager. This is definitely a book that I'd want my daughter to check out, when she has the patience to read something more than a picture book.

An interesting little fairy tale by one of my favorite authors. I bumped it up to 4 stars because of the wonderful illustrations by the author.

The Ordinary Princess

I didn't know MM Kaye could draw so well. I think young girls would like this story. Aug 13, Katy rated it really liked it. Wonderful fairy and princess story. Nov 30, Clara Biesel rated it it was amazing. Can be read aloud in one evening. Oct 31, Hannah Walsh rated it it was amazing. What a refreshingly contemporary feel to this princess-needs-a-husband story.

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In true fairytale style, the seventh princess is blessed with gifts by a host of fairies, but as her father fears, it goes wrong and one slightly bitter fairy 'blesses' her with ordinariness. Her dark hair and freckles make Amy no ordinary princess can be called anything else stop every suitor What a refreshingly contemporary feel to this princess-needs-a-husband story.

Her dark hair and freckles make Amy no ordinary princess can be called anything else stop every suitor from pursuing her. She decides to run away and make her own life, away from boring princes and a confined life. A life in the forest is bliss, but eventually Amy realises she will need some money, and must find work.

The story is great, Amy is a wonderful role model - she's not going to accept her royal position and an easy life, she's a hard worker when needed, she's funny and smart and quite adorable. In her work as a kitchen maid, she meets a man-of-all-work and they start to enjoy each other's company. What a great story to show young girls that a princess's privileged life is not necessarily something to aspire to, that an equal relationship is a healthy and long-lasting one, that working for a living can bring its own rewards, that beauty is something intrinsic to a person, not just about skin, teeth and hair.

The writing is chatty and easy to follow, one you could read aloud to a five-year-old or for an older child to easily read for themselves. It's one I've only heard of recently and wish I'd read at the age of 8 or 9, it's definitely one I would want children today still discovering, there is nothing old-fashioned about the writing. The illustrations new Puffin version are a little quaint looking, but still suited the story nicely, giving it a fairy-tale feel.

Dec 28, Elinor Loredan rated it it was amazing Shelves: Perhaps what I love best about this delight of a story quite apart from the great wisteria and lovely Forest of Faraway is the whimsical narrative voice that is sympathetic to the characters and makes them endearing, even the controlling King and Queen who only seem to care about marrying Amy off to a royal Highness.

From the start the whole thing is hued in warm gold. I do find it rather hard to believe, though, that no one in the castle seems to take an interest in Amy beyond making her less Perhaps what I love best about this delight of a story quite apart from the great wisteria and lovely Forest of Faraway is the whimsical narrative voice that is sympathetic to the characters and makes them endearing, even the controlling King and Queen who only seem to care about marrying Amy off to a royal Highness.

I do find it rather hard to believe, though, that no one in the castle seems to take an interest in Amy beyond making her less 'ordinary'. Surely, since she possesses the fairy gifts of charm, wit, and courage, someone would be fond of her. She doesn't hold any grudges, though, but writes home after she runs away. Though sometimes it's hard to know what she's thinking, I do like Amy's simple approach to things. She doesn't want to be married off, so she runs away to live in the forest oh, how I'd love to be in that forest among the bluebells!

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And be friends with creatures, though, of course, nowadays we know that deer are dangerous and animals might be diseased or rabid; ah, things in stories are so much simpler and ideal ; she needs a new dress, so she goes to the palace on the other side to find work. She doesn't wrangle and struggle.

I engaged with it and felt very connected towards it. Kids and adults alike will fall in love with this beautiful story of wisdom and love. Its perfect for anyone. It has a g The Ordinary Prince by Shahar Ben Halevi was a magical book filled with passion that changed my perspective of many things.

The Ordinary Princess - Wikipedia

It has a great message especially for kids, "money doesn't buy happiness". You can pick out a nice flower that might be cheap, but it has an important meaning inside. The moral of this story is that life isn't about money, its about love and cherishing the little things that might not mean a lot to you but to others its an amazing new feeling.

This book is a little piece of happiness that reminds me that there is always hope, even in the smallest things. Dec 03, Limor rated it it was amazing. Nowadays it is difficult to find great books that have such an amazing and powerful message that goes a long way for everyone to enjoy. This book has taught my children that not everything has a dollar value, and it has created a moral message for all children especially of this generation.

This material world ceases to amaze m The Ordinary Prince by Shahar Ben Halevi is an unordinary tale in itself, as it is rare to find such an enlightening story that both children and adults alike will ADORE. This material world ceases to amaze me every day how much I realize that I miss the world of my time, where there were morals and value and more love for everyday things, not just that everything can be paid for.

You cannot buy happiness. This book is a little piece of happiness for me that shows that there are still some people that believe in great living. Structured after the classic Princess-seeks-Eligible-Prince narrative, kids would love this fairytale fantasy.

Adults would no doubt notice and appreciate the philosophical side to it. All in all, this is a good children's book and a very enjoyable read. Dec 05, Oded Korczyn rated it it was amazing. This is a charming book. Both my son and I love it. It is beautifully written and illustrated. A charming book that I will forever treasure because I can sympathize with that prince! I actually really liked this. Emily rated it it was amazing Nov 10, Ellie rated it it was amazing Oct 12, Nikki rated it did not like it Oct 20, Jec rated it liked it Apr 13, Twisha Solgama rated it did not like it Apr 12, Adam rated it liked it Aug 04, Tom Leonard rated it did not like it Nov 20, Deborah A Blodgett rated it it was amazing Jan 31, Pages to import images to Wikidata All stub articles.

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