What do you think?
Rate this book
Disney Princess Essential Guide
Exclusively commissioned cross-sections, detailed maps drawn by the best Disney artists, and fascinating background information take a unique look at Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Jasmine, and Ariel--six of Disney's all-time favorite princesses. 75,000 first printing.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
6 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
September 17, 2019
A Gorgeous book with beautiful illustrations and loads of lovely info for little ones to read on their favourite disney characters.
December 9, 2019
Absolutely love this book! Has great detail and lots of lovely pictures.
February 25, 2015
This book is not for a small child. Our friend's almost-three-year-old daughter chose it from the library because of the princesses on the cover, but this is really a book for an older kid (maybe 7-8?). It doesn't actually contain the stories of the various princesses, but rather information about them, their castles, and their outfits. Trapped for a week in a vacation house with this book and two little girls, we constantly had to freestyle the stories, which was difficult because the photos weren't in order so you'd have to flip back and forth. However, this did give us the opportunity to make things up about, for example, how Aurora loved to play in the mud. Not recommended for anyone under five, though.
August 6, 2017
Ideal for the 4-6 crowd, this encyclopedia of Disney Princesses is chocker full of big colourful pictures, each with an accompanying paragraph of text. Although the ideal audience may not be able to read these at the lower age range, the text is well spaced and bold, in a simple and clear font. Ideal for bedtime or just together time, where the children can be entertained with familiar faces, whilst learning facts about them by listening. The added bonus of fold out pages allows for larger pictures or more information, setting it apart from a standard format book. The massive wall poster is also a great touch.
The older children would appreciate the quiz at the back. My eight year old, who has grown up with the Princesses, enjoyed reading the book and adores the poster, even though she is at the far end of the age range for such a product. In older children's hands, there is certainly limited interest, however had this been about a couple of years ago, it would have been a firm favourite.
Pages are thick and shiny (easier to clean if they are not absorbent), the hard-cover outer seems hard-wearing. The little sparkling frame on the cover is pretty too. In younger hands the fold outs may get ripped.
The older children would appreciate the quiz at the back. My eight year old, who has grown up with the Princesses, enjoyed reading the book and adores the poster, even though she is at the far end of the age range for such a product. In older children's hands, there is certainly limited interest, however had this been about a couple of years ago, it would have been a firm favourite.
Pages are thick and shiny (easier to clean if they are not absorbent), the hard-cover outer seems hard-wearing. The little sparkling frame on the cover is pretty too. In younger hands the fold outs may get ripped.
April 20, 2022
This book was a fairly comprehensive guide to all the well known, popular, Disney Princesses. Only Elsa (who, yes is technically a Queen), Anna, Elena and Kida were not included.
Each Princess had several pages devoted to her. The pages talked about things like her appearance, her personality, where she lived, her Prince and the castle associated with her story. Though each "chapter" was not a story book, it progressed along the same timeline as her tale. There were also other elements discussed. With Belle for example, the servants in the Beast's castle, Gaston and some of the magical artifacts were talked about.
One thing I felt was lacking was every Princesses Castle had a cutaway interior view that showed all the rooms. The problem was, very few of the rooms were labeled, usually only one or two. This was a lack of information on the part of the book, in my view.
The text was small paragraphs or bullet points, each devoted to one thing. This made it extremely readable, and not too bogged down in unnecessary detail. The illustrations were a mix of screen caps and artwork of the Princess and other characters and places in her story.
A fantastic, enjoyable book if you are a fan of Princesses, Disney or both!
Each Princess had several pages devoted to her. The pages talked about things like her appearance, her personality, where she lived, her Prince and the castle associated with her story. Though each "chapter" was not a story book, it progressed along the same timeline as her tale. There were also other elements discussed. With Belle for example, the servants in the Beast's castle, Gaston and some of the magical artifacts were talked about.
One thing I felt was lacking was every Princesses Castle had a cutaway interior view that showed all the rooms. The problem was, very few of the rooms were labeled, usually only one or two. This was a lack of information on the part of the book, in my view.
The text was small paragraphs or bullet points, each devoted to one thing. This made it extremely readable, and not too bogged down in unnecessary detail. The illustrations were a mix of screen caps and artwork of the Princess and other characters and places in her story.
A fantastic, enjoyable book if you are a fan of Princesses, Disney or both!
January 9, 2018
I had to check this book out at the library multiple times because I just love Disney Princesses so much! Aurora is my favorite, but I love Cinderella, Jasmine, Ariel, Belle, and Snow White, too. I'm three years old and haven't even seen the movies yet (they are too long and scary) but I love all the princesses anyway. There's not really a story in this book - just a bunch of "facts" about each character, like what they wear, where they live, what their likes and dislikes are, but I like looking at the pictures and having my mom read it to me. I like to pick out which princess she reads about next.
December 27, 2019
I bought this book for Leonie before she could read - and we read it all to her. What I enjoy about it is that you don't only get a few screen shots, but descriptions and more details than you see in the movie. I was hoping it would make her think about the characters a little too.
Now that she can read fairly "fluently", she read it on her own (from cover to cover) and then decided we need to do it again, for bedtime reading! The deal is I (or Edgar) read a spread, then she does. When we were visiting Granny she even repeated Jasmin's story - and will probably repeat it all once we're through!!
Now that she can read fairly "fluently", she read it on her own (from cover to cover) and then decided we need to do it again, for bedtime reading! The deal is I (or Edgar) read a spread, then she does. When we were visiting Granny she even repeated Jasmin's story - and will probably repeat it all once we're through!!
March 11, 2021
I read this book just for fun, and it was fun! Beautiful artwork, summaries of the Disney princess stories (up to Merida in Brave), and a description of all the main characters in each story. I had forgotten that Ariel had six sisters (Aquata, Andrina, Arista, Attina, Adella and Alana), and that in Beauty and the Beast, there were three blonde girls called The Bimbettes! DK makes beautiful books. This one's a delight!
December 29, 2018
This book has been hours of entertainment for my 4 year old, even in the short time we've had it. She loves "reading" it to herself and having me read her the facts about the characters.
Read
June 15, 2021It tells you about the princess
August 30, 2023
This is cute, very 2000s and nostalgic.
August 13, 2024
Not bad at all, if a bit oddly out of order at times.
July 24, 2020
My daughters spotted this at the local library and we checked it out before the quarantine started. My younger daughter in particular spent a lot of time looking it over and sounding out the words, and choosing this for bedtime story time. After enjoying the short story about each princess, we've watched some of the movies about them for family movie time.
The illustrations are vivid. My daughter particularly likes the small details about the princesses' outfits, and the images of some of the castles with special rooms pointed out.
It really is a well done collection of stories about the princesses. It is good story telling yet simple enough that my daughter, who is 7, can follow along, read some of the sections, and sound out difficult words with some help. It is building her confidence as a reader and she is learning new words as she reads.
She enjoyed this so much that when the libraries reopened and it was time to return our borrowed book, we went ahead and ordered our own copy to keep.
The illustrations are vivid. My daughter particularly likes the small details about the princesses' outfits, and the images of some of the castles with special rooms pointed out.
It really is a well done collection of stories about the princesses. It is good story telling yet simple enough that my daughter, who is 7, can follow along, read some of the sections, and sound out difficult words with some help. It is building her confidence as a reader and she is learning new words as she reads.
She enjoyed this so much that when the libraries reopened and it was time to return our borrowed book, we went ahead and ordered our own copy to keep.
January 4, 2013
No new details, but a complete breakdown of the likes/dislikes of each princess and their stories. Includes discussion of the princess' dresses, which I'm sure many young readers will enjoy. The questionable thing that jumped out at me the most was on Mulan's page - one of the little fashion facts about her outfit? "Belt to make her waist look tiny." Really?? Couldn't have said anything else about the colours or style? Other than this quibble, most of it is not too bad. The "about" each princess makes sure to include something about their character (Mulan is brave and clever; Cinderella is hard-working and practical) and describes three of the seven as "romantic" which doesn't have to be a negative attribute for young women, especially when coupled with other traits like practicality, thoughtfulness, adventurous and curious.
April 18, 2016
A guide to all the Disney princesses, which is sure to please fans. No new information is given, but there are cool pictures. There are some questionable comments, such as pointing out how tiny Mulan's waist is and how much more beautiful Belle is compared to the village girls. These are not exactly messages I would want my young daughter to hear, but they may not notice.
May 8, 2018
A fun character guide on the Disney Princesses, it starts with Snow White and goes upto Merida (Brave). It's not really detailed but still a good book to own and read if you're a fan of the Princesses. I also enjoyed re- watching the films and then reading the book.
A great book for a Disney Princess fan!
A great book for a Disney Princess fan!
June 18, 2016
So much love for this edition especially, love Aurora's dress and her pose and the fact that she is front and center on the cover :) This book makes me so happy.
I don't like the cover of the newer edition - Cinderella is one of my favourites, but I had the old art and that particular pose. Really hoping for a new edition to come out soon with Moana and Merida!!!!!
I don't like the cover of the newer edition - Cinderella is one of my favourites, but I had the old art and that particular pose. Really hoping for a new edition to come out soon with Moana and Merida!!!!!
August 27, 2021
I think these DK Essential Guides are really good they include character profiles and information on the locations of the films. This includes profiles on each princess from Snow White to Rapunzel. It has little details on the princess and their locations. I loved re-watching the films and then reading this book, definitely a must for any Disney princess fan!
December 16, 2008
All the worst of the Disney princesses combined in one awful book. I'm told that a playboy centerfold lists the model's likes, dislikes and aspirations, this book does the same. I'm not a staunch feminist, but this is really awful content, and also badly written.
March 16, 2015
This book is just beautiful - even at my age now (I'm in my 20s) - I still love everything Disney & I do love those classic Disney Princesses.
This book was great - I especially loved the illustrations and the tidbit trivia that accompanied the lovely pics.
This book was great - I especially loved the illustrations and the tidbit trivia that accompanied the lovely pics.
April 29, 2016
I prefer the stories to books like this but this was still interesting. It was very informative and had interesting facts. There were some quotes from the movies which made it more interesting. Fans of the Disney Princess movies will love it.
February 17, 2010
Obviously, not my choice.
November 7, 2011
ava adored this book. she kept it by her bed and would read it when she woke up in the morning and before she fell asleep. she would ask us to read about a princess in leiu of her bedtime storybook.
October 13, 2010
Everything you need to know about every Disney princess. Don't be surprised it you get a "commercial" feeling.
August 10, 2013
i liked ariel!
April 23, 2014
i hate it! BAD YOU HEAR ME IT THE WOST BOOK EVER!
November 6, 2014
ridiculous but Z loved.
April 17, 2016
The book includes a short version of the princesses' stories
March 26, 2020
Love the illustrations from the movies— just lovely!! The narrative is too contrived and preachy. But anyone will love looking through the pictures.
Read
July 14, 2009currently having to read this book way to often :)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews