In her second adventure, Princess Truly's magical curls and belief in herself transport her back in time and help her reach for the stars!
I love my fluffy, puffy curls. I'm so happy they are mine. When I believe in myself, They shimmer and they shine.Princess Truly is back! In the second Princess Truly adventure, Truly's magical, sparkling curls have the power to transport her to exciting new places like the Egyptian pyramids, the Jurassic period, and even into outer space. With curiosity, bravery, and her signature smarts, Princess Truly once again proves that she can do anything she sets her mind to and reminds girls everywhere to reach for the stars, believe in themselves, and dream big!
I wanted to love this, because I think it's so important to have books that showcase black girls. And it should be a winner -- a princess who travels to ancient Egypt, the bottom of the sea, outer space..! The quality of the illustrations was great, but I was honestly a little surprised to see this came from a major publisher. The rhyming text is often labored, and more egregiously, the author and illustrator confuse Jupiter and Saturn: "I count the rings on Jupiter/ And travel on to Mars"says Truly, dancing across a picture of Saturn. Jupiter doesn't have rings! Argh.
This really deserved more editorial guidance, because it was SO close to being fantastic.
Children's literature needs to celebrate Black children better and more intentionally than it does (and historically has). I didn’t think the content was especially engaging (the rhyming didn't always go smoothly), but what I was really disappointed by was the fact that the main character has literally the same smiling expression on her face on every page. No wonder, determination, nervousness, or vulnerability -- just a constant, unchanging smile. I found it kind of unnerving.
I don't particularly care for princess books, but this is a series I really like for kids. It's all about embracing what makes you different as something special (in this case, her wonderful curly hair).
In the second self-empowerment picture book by this creative team, Princess Truly is proud of herself and her curls. Really, she's sure that there's simply nothing that she cannot do, and sets out to prove just that, exploring the prehistoric world with the help of a dinosaur, visiting the pyramids of Egypt and cracking the hieroglyphic codes, even going deep beneath the ocean's surface and heading out into space. After she comes back down to earth, Princess Truly is still not finished, rocking out with her own band before falling asleep. After all, she's had a very busy day. The text and illustrations attest to a little girl who never doubts that she has a bright future in store of her. Along with her two pets, she sets her portion of the world on fire with her ambitions. Her smiling face, dark brown skin and adorable curls bouncing atop her head, and her ability to imagine such vivid scenes are evidence that she won't let anything get in her way, and that she has ambitious dreams for the future. Readers will want to pay attention to some of the details in the illustrations. For instance, when it's finally time for slumber, she is accompanied by two aliens. I can't think of a better reminder than this picture book to be true to yourself. After all, it works for Princess Truly.
Fun story about a spunky little girl who loves to have fun and learn each day. Beautiful illustrations with colorful watercolor scenes. It features fun and imagination throughout. Girls will especially enjoy this one. Good for a read-aloud to a group. Highly recommended for Grades K-2.
"Princess Truly in My Magical, Sparkling Curls" is written by Kelly Greenawalt and illustrated by Amariah Rauscher. The genre is fictional poetry.
Princess Truly is on an adventure powered by her belief in herself and her love of her hair. Each page turn is a new world with a new rhyme that Princess Truly explores.
"Princess Truly in My Magical, Sparkling Curls" is a lovely book built for an audience of one or two for ages three to four. It is not entertaining enough for a child that is older. The illustrations, while they are cute, are cartoon in style and not realistic. This book is supposed to promote self-esteem for hair, but the hair is mainly covered with decorations making it not visible, and is fashioned in one style throughout the book. I do not believe the illustrations in this book have enough variety of hairstyles to celebrate hair. It is important the hairstyles are visible and the characters look realistic because, my target audience of elementary school age girls need to see this for positive self-image and self-esteem. Both the author and illustrator are not representative of the book's targeted audience but, they have a shared reason for the writing of the text in that their children are African-American and they wanted their girls to feel positive about their curls. No stereotypes are present in the writing and the illustrations. While this book is part of my text set, most of my requirements are not fulfilled. I would not recommend this book for a classroom read.
This book is obviously supposed to celebrate the young girls awesome curly hair and she mentions it a few times. My problem, is that the hair itself has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story. Maybe the hair is supposed to be wings that help her fly? I don't know.
The book itself is beautiful, the illustrations are super cute - except that the little girl's face is essentially the same in every picture. The only difference is whether her not her mouth is open or closed when she smiles, but the expression is the same no matter what she's doing. And, despite the fact that she's supposed to be celebrating her hair and swimming underwater or flying or timing dinosaurs who race, her hairstyle stays the same - never a single hair out of place. It's just weird. The rhyming is also off a few times so this isn't a great group read aloud. But, this is a great bedtime or one-on-one story with really little kids developing their imaginations.
{My thoughts} – This is a cute little book about a little girl called Princess Truly that goes on a sort of adventure in her dreams I’m assuming while she’s laying in her bed. She goes quite far and seems to enjoy herself before she lets herself come back to her bed and get ready to actually sleep.
This book is written in a poetry form and the words match the illustrations within the pages nicely. I enjoyed reading it and seeing where the author was going to take the story. I think any child would enjoy having this book added to their home library and I look forward to reading it to my daughter in the future.
I recommend this book for any child that has an incredible imagination and loves to go on adventures. I think it would be a great addition to their at home library.
There is not one thing to dislike about this book.
Princess Truly has magical sparkling curls and that magic allows her to do some amazing things. This story takes us on her adventures as she rides dinosaurs, goes in a submarine, and even flies a rocket to outer space. It's fun and light and such a blast to read. The three-year-old with me was riveted to each page. The story unfolds through clever rhymes that are a pleasure rolling off the tongue. The pictures are bright and cheerful and just so adorable.
Final Verdict: A story that shouldn't be missed by those with a young girl to read to.
This book is incredibly cute and empowering for young black girls!
Princess Truly loves her curls and puffs, and repeatedly says things like "I am clever," "I am brilliant," and "I believe in myself." She explores many different STEAM-related careers, such as marine biology and rocket science, and finds that she can excel at them when she puts her mind to it!
One small nitpick is that Princess Truly's adventures are powered by her magical curls, which is a strange mix with the otherwise intellectual/scientific adventures. But I believe it's still great for black girls to see themselves represented as magical, smart, and hard working, all of which is covered in this fun story.
According to the inside front flap of the book jacket, "Princess Truly is back in a brand-new celebation of imagination, self-esteem, and the power of embracing who you are."
That intent certainly shapes this happy fantasy book about how much Princess Truly loves her hair.
On the chance that this book helps girls to love their hair, sure, I'l rate this FIVE STARS.
Personally, I found far more self-honesty, practical helpfulness, and inspiration through a contrasting book on a similar topic, "My Hair is a Garden" by Cozbi A. Cabrera. This story is set in the real world.
It was OK. I like the goal to have a book representing black girls and how beautiful their hair is. Representation 1000% matters.
However, while the illustrations were cute the main characther had the same smile on basically all of the pages which was a bit odd. I would have liked a variety of expressions. It was like the face was copy pasted on a body with different poses.
The writing was a bit off to me to. It rhymed but also didn't. It didn't flow well for me.
In general I loved the concept, agree with the message, but the execution I felt was lacking.
This book is about a little girl who is embracing her curls. She explores all over the world with her curls taking her there. She even explores outer space dancing with the stars and hoping on planets.
This book is really sweet especially for young black girls to embrace their curls. There are many positive affirmations to build confidence in the readers of the book
This book could be useful in a classroom or in a speech therapy session to practice rhyming words, and bigger words ( types of dinosaurs, planets, etc).
Princess Truly has quite an imagination and in this book she explores everything from dinosaurs to outer space! And all without leaving her bedroom. The rhyming is clever, but the story is rather random. On one page there is a dinosaur race and on the very next page she is at the pyramids in Egypt. Very young readers may not mind the lack of story though. Overall, the colorful pages will please little kids and it may spark a conversation on imagination.
Princess Truly has amazing curly hair. When she believes in herself, her curls sparkle and glow with colorful light, and she pretends it takes her to far off places. She plays with dinosaurs. She travels the depths of the ocean. She explores ancient pyramids. She maps the stars from space. She even starts a band with some aliens. Then she makes it home in time for bed, guided by the light of her magical curls.
This book is magically detailed and well written. Because Princess Truly believes there’s nothing she can’t do, this book empowers young readers to dream big, especially academically. In her imagination, Princess Truly translates ancient hieroglyphics, discovers new species of aquatic animals, and does other amazing and intelligent things simply because she believes she can. Bright and happy, the watercolor illustrations flow smoothly with the text. Due to the cover and title, the book appears to have been made to encourage girls with curls to love their hair. But while Princess Truly’s curls are an important part of starting and ending her adventures, the majority of the content focuses on the power of imagination and self-confidence.
I was first drawn to the Princess Truly series due to the rich and beautifully engaging artwork. The illustrations give Truly an intangible quality that brings the character to life. My daughters absolutely love Truly's adventures as well as her unquenchable joy and positivity. We will be eagerly awaiting the next installment in the series!
*I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher through my district library services*
This is a cute story about being proud of who you are, and how powerful imagination can be. The illustrations are nice. The text is rhyming, although a bit forced. Young readers will probably still enjoy it.
I love that the little girl in this book talks about her curls and how much she loves them and they help her believe in herself. She goes on many adventures so I love that she is using her imagination and that isn't just another book with a little white, blond character. Students of color need to see themselves in books and this book definitely helps with that and does so in a positive way.
This book is a rhyming delight for the imaginative reader! I may have enjoyed this book even more than my students. Princess Truly goes on marvelous adventures that should appeal to many children.
Fun fact. "I count the rings on Jupiter" inspired a question from a student about just how many it has; we discovered through research that the gas giant has four.
2/7/2014 - I read this for preschool storytime this morning and it was a huge hit. More for the illustrations than for the text, but my audience had a great time finding all of the things in the pictures.
Princess Truly definitely leaves a better impression than some of the other serials in the picture book princess genre. And she's super cute! I'm glad there is a book with body positivity that has a black protagonist. Very cool to see.
Princess Truly really likes her curls! If you liked the first Princess Truly, you will love this pastel remake of the original (basically). I love the positive energy, but it is predictable with the exact same message as the other Truly books (I know there's not enough positive in this world).
My friend was looking for kids' books featuring positive images of African American children for her one year old daughter's birthday. She also just cut her processed hair to have all-natural hair as an example for her daughter. This book is perfect for this! What great illustrations to boot. ❤️🍰
I loved the rhyming pattern but most of all I love that isn't about a little blond white girl. Not that there's ANYTHING wrong with being a little blond white girl but it is awesome to see other girls represented.