Princesses are People Too

by Susie Morgenstern

In the first story, Princess Yona and her parents slowly adapt to a world in which people seem to think that royalty belongs only in books. In the second, Princess Emma is uninterested in whether a prince is rich or handsome but only if he can successfully scratch away the terribly itchy spot in the middle of her back.Although they are princesses, two stories show Princess Yona and Princess Emma have troubles of their own.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Fairy Tales

52 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Ryan Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the father of a princess-lover, I appreciate how Morganstern creates characters with normal experiences that just happen to be princesses. And (spoiler) while one is somewhat rescued by a prince, that only happens because the prince happens to be decent, caring and a generous back-scratcher. In other words, finding the prince is about the individual, not about the prince-ness. Lovely.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/200...

[Ensiform · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subtitle of this brief book is "Two Modern Fairy Tales;" Morganstern aims to humanize and modernize the princess by subverting the stereotypes and expectations about princesses propagated by children's media. The two stories portray princesses in a modern light, emphasizing their humanity, individuality, and the everyday challenges they face. In the first story, a princess grapples with the expectations placed upon her by society and her royal duties, striving to find her own identity and happiness. The second tale follows another princess who looks for a prince to spend her life with, the paramount characteristic of whom is that he must be a good back scratcher. I found it to be charming and even witty, albeit lightweight; I liked how it flips fairy tale tropes and presents princesses as relatable and multifaceted characters. It doesn't exactly break new ground in the modern fairytale genre (remember the cartoon "Fractured Fairy Tales," from 1959?), but it's a solid, empowering tale that young kids should hear, a refreshing trickle among the firehose of Disney ideals. Interesting side note: this book was apparently published first in French (as "Même Les Princesses Doivent Aller a L'Ecole," also a title that draws you in); Morganstern, born in New Jersey, lives and writes in France.

[Eme87 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two tales of princesses who show that a princess is a person too.
In the first one, a king, queen and princess move from an old castle to an apartment building and life finally gets interesting when the princess is allowed to go to school.
In the second story a different princess loves reading in bed, but occasionally a terrible itch happens in the middle of her back and she can't reach it. Will she ever find a prince who can actually scratch her back the right way?

[Cheryl]

paper only at mobius, but also on openlibrary

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, not great. Extremely clever and weird, yet some of the weirdness is not clever, just weird. Perhaps there were clever word-choices that were lost in the translation. (I read it in English, rather than the original French.) I do like the idea of a princess looking for the perfect prince, i.e. a prince who can adequately scratch her back. And I like having a story about a girl begging and pleading her parents because she wants to go to school.

By the way, we grabbed this at the library for my preschooler, but most of the jokes were way above her head. She said she liked it, but I don't think she understood very much of what happened.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting, but strange. The first story - Even Princesses have to go to school is easily the better of the two. The Royal Family has fallen on hard times and trades in the ramshackle castle for a very nice apartment. The princess throws a temper tantrum to get her way (to go to school) - so it's a mixed bag. The second one is funny but from an adult perspective. I'm not sure how well that would do as a kid's story. The Princess is looking for the one guy that can "scratch her itch" - literally and I'm guessing figuratively too.....

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Susie Morgenstern is one of the most popular children's book authors in France. The few others of her books I've read, I have loved. This one is two short stories. The first is about Princess Yona, who is bored as a princess, but when her family moves to an apartment building, she finds this place called school. In the second story, Princess Emma is looking for a prince who will scratch her itch--the itch on her back, that is. These are sweet stories, though I admit I liked the first one better. I enjoyed this book, but I like Book of Coupons and Secret Letters from 0 to 10 better.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I normally don't read children's fiction at all, so I don't know how this book is compared to other kids' books. I did think the two stories were cute though, and I really liked the illustrations; kind of reminded me of Quentin Blake, but... neater. :)

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read with my girls. Didn't enjoy it but, hey, it involved princesses and my four year-old was asking to read it. Enough said.

[Yaneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think its an awesome book about a young girl