Princess Diana: A Photographic Story of a Life

DK Biography

by Joanne Mattern

Perfect for book reports or summer reading, DK's acclaimed Biography series tackles one of history's most inspiring and colorful women: Princess Diana. Supports the Common Core State Standards.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Childrens

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Mattern is the author of many books for children. Her favorite topics include animals, biography, and history. She lives in the Hudson Valley of New York State.

Reviews

[Lorraine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The short biography has many facts, quotations, and photographs of Princess Diana. Having just past the 20th year since her death in a horrific automobile crash on August 31, 1997, younger persons who may not know of Princess Diana and all the excellent work she did in addition to making the world aware that AIDS was not contagious and patients with AIDS/HIV should be welcomed into one’s life even if only for a short while. I have always liked DK Publishing and the books this company publishes. This biography of Princess Diana by Joanne Mattern is “A Photographic Story of a Life.” This book is a great way to be introduced to the life and work of Princess Diana, the mother of Prince William & Prince Harry of the British Royal Family.

[Johnny G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a terrific book, told in a language that a 5th grader or middle schooler would understand. This is a biography about a person who fell victim to the greed of the masses. Princess Diana showed that you can have all the best intentions in the world (she truly was a person who cared about others - just not Prince Charles so much), and greedy people (the Paparazzi) will do anything to try and steal your privacy. It provided me with a lot of background information about the Royal Family and what was going on during the summer of 1997 (a busy one for me so I wasn't paying as much attention to the news as I should have). I would read this one again!

[Vida · Rating 4 out of 5]

Princess Diana (aka Diana Spencer) lived an almost storybook life surrounded by Counts and Kings and captains of industry. Yet, her fabled life was tarnished by human foibles, her own and of those around her. This is a well-written, sensitive and enjoyable book filled with lovely photographs. As I read it, I was reminded of how much the world was enamored with the "People's Princess." It is a worthy book of grades four and above and I recommend it for adults too so that they can remember their own lives in the reflection of what was occurring in Diana's.

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hesitated to buy this book because I didn't want to get caught up in a media image of someone. Since Diana, Princess of Wales, was so recently alive amidst much media frenzy, I wasn't sure if an honest and realistic portrait of her could be portrayed. But, as I have been following @KensingtonPalace and @RoyalFamily on Twitter lately, I have gotten curious again regarding her life and how she affected the current leaders of one of today's global countries. I had mourned her death; she had been seen by me in a personal way when I saw pictures of her when I was growing up (I had watched her wedding and was highly impressed by her humanitarian work). I wanted to know the truth. I feel this book does that. Like other books in the DK Biography series, the pictures were well chosen and the text honest, to-the-point, and informative. I mourn her still but, due to this book, I see that her sons do a fantastic job of carrying out her legacy and wishes while both maintaining and changing their Royal heritage.

[Joanna Leona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in preparation for visiting the Princess Diana exhibit on the Queen Mary in Long Beach Harbor. My daughter actually checked it out in the children's room of our public library and it is written for pre-teen readers. It is well done and includes a good selection of photos which illustrate the princess' life effectively.

Princess Diana was a few years older than me, and I remember looking up to her and admiring her spirit and her grace. Reading this book and learning more about her life was an affirmation that one person can make a difference, and made me grateful for the time I still have to serve others and carry on a legacy of service, following the example set by this amazing princess.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really interesting. I knew almost everything about Princess Diana, but thanks to this book, i knew more now. This book is a biography about Princess Diana's life and childhood. She had a rough time. No matter how many times she turn her life over and starts something new, she never thought that she belong. She became famous by the photography. Princess Diana went through many stress and depression because of her husband and the press. When all this became too much, Diana begins to give up. She died in the car accident. The story about her is touching and devastated. This book is recommended to be read.

[sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

My love of biographies has been thriving these past couple days. I am not complaining.
Along with the biography about Selena I previously reviewed, Princess Diana's story is just as harrowing. The depth this book brings is utterly astonishing. And not to mention she was a humanitarian, despite all of her personal struggles is powerful enough to bring tears to your eyes. I guess when you have so much sorrow inside yourself, the least you can do is provide others with the comfort you never had in your life. 😢
Bottom line: she deserved better.

[Freda Mans-Labianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

How can you dislike a book about a humanitarian, who is also a princess?! Well, you can't.
This book really didn't tell me anything about Diana Spencer that I did not know already, however, it was one of the best books I have seen in regards to her in factual form.
Very well written and illustrated, a book that anyone should read, and enjoy her life once again.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was Princess Diana for the Wax Muesum. This book will give you all the information about Princess Diana. This book is not hard to read either. Also I just love Princess Diana. I hope you read this book.

[Krista]

I luv diana and i luv dk biographies

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice, all the information flowed smoothly together.

[Celine · Rating 5 out of 5]

All about her life and marring prince Charles

[jenann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me sad happy and feel disappointed. I’m sad that such a wonderful women has died ❤️ and I’m happy that she changed so much in the world 🌎 and I’m so happy she did that and I know she would be happy if we helped Yemen 🇾🇪 so please educate yourself on this country’s suffering and thank you for reading this review bye gonna go read some more.

[Ada · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read a lot of books from about Princess Diana or the Royal family. This is another pieces from Princess Diana. The book only give a summary of what is happening from her brief life. If you want to learn more, this book may not be the one you are looking for. But still, it's not a bad biography

[Elise]

Since my mom very much cared about and admired Princess Diana from a distance, I was very intrigued when I saw this book at a book sale. I didn't know much about Princess Diana. I was 11 when she died.

I'm so glad I got it because it was excellent. I plan on reading more biographies in this series. I hope they are even half as good. This was $.56 well spent!

[Deepthi Narasimhaiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an illustrated book showing the life of Princess Diana. In this book, the author mentions that Diana gave an interview to Andrew Morton, who was writing a book on her. So I guess the book on Diana by Andrew Morton might hold more stories from Diana’s end.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well-done biography. It does not gloss over the difficult parts of Diana's life, rather it covered them in a age-appropriate way The photos are excellent. Recommended.

(It is too long for K. I long for a picture book biography of Diana. )

[Abbey Madrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was just perfect. It was a quick easy read. I knew a little bit about her life since I read Prince Harry’s book spare but still this book went into other information about her life that we might not know about. Even back then the Europe government wasn’t good.

[Leelah · Rating 4 out of 5]

great read!

[Mona Sakr · Rating 5 out of 5]

i think the world will remember her as a good woman not a princess

[Celz Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so relaxing to read. I was waiting in line and I grab to read this. It’s so interesting and I felt the people’s love for Princess Diana. She really is the Queen of hearts.

[Loraine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written.

[Kasey Bahr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sad story of a loved princess.

[Natsuko Toda · Rating 4 out of 5]

-DK publishing inc,DK Biographies
-Time 4/23=55min,4/30=55min,5/7=75min
-7-word summary; Diana-grow-freely-marriage-Prince-pregnant-boys
-Discussion Question;
If you could meet a Prince, and asked to marry him, do or can you marry him or not??
I cannot marry him even if I could be a princess because it would be hard for me to have responsibilities for people of the country.
-Comments
I didn't know that Diana knew that Prince Charles wanted to marry Camilla when Diana engaged with him.I thought he was like a devil.
-----------
4/30=55min
-7-word summary;Charity-good-family?-difference-Death-Separate-NEW
-Discussion Question;
Q.When your child got injured and had to perform an operation, can you
leave him/her to go to important jobs?
A.No, I can't. It's more important to wait for the operation than going to jobs. To think about my own children is a much more important job than others.
-Comments
When I read this part, I could not believe that Prince Charles went to parties when his son, Prince Harry, got injured and performed an operation. Parents should worry about their own children, but he didn't.I don't like Prince Charles as a FATHER.
------------
5/7=75min
-7-word summary;TV-divorce-charity-Dodi-France-accident-die
-Discussion Question;
Q.Diana decided to hold an auction for charities and she sold her dresses because of her son's advice. Have you ever advised to your mother and did she hear the advice and try to do so?
A.Yes, I sometimes advise to my mother. My mother often takes me to a shopping mall and I have to give her advice, which clothes are better.
-Comments
Finally, Diana could be just a person. It was really nice. However, she was always followed by paparazzi even though she was just a citizen. When I read her last day, I was really surprised and became sad because paparazzis did just take pictures even though she was dying. If I met with an accident, I would try to find survivors and help them. Diana was alive when the accident happened. If paparazzi had tried to help her, she would be still alive. I cannot believe those who just took pictures for getting money.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princess Diana by Joanne Mattern was a fantastic read! The author went into detail about Diana's life from when she was a child up until she passed away. She provided actual pictures of Princess Diana that matched the text. Therefore, this book is very engaging because it is loaded with a lot of information people may not have known about and also has real life pictures. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the royal family. In particular, I would think this book would be best accommodating for middle schoolers' because it is a chapter book, but the vocabulary isn't too difficult.
This book is classified as a biography. It is told in third person, by the author, and is set up chronologically following the different events throughout Princess Diana's life. Like I stated earlier, there are real life pictures that help the reader vision what was written. Also, the author provides footnotes with different vocabulary that readers might not know such as monarchy or fox-hunting. Also, a timeline is provided at the end which highlight the main events in her life. Lastly, the author had a bibliography at the end along with a works cited page.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book I would have liked to see more detail about the royal family, however over all this book I'm giving a four out of five stars. Grant, if you were to read this book you would think its a good book, but not the worlds greatest book ever. This book was more of Princess Diana's life and how he had the troubles with her husband. Moreover this book had more sides notes to help you interpret British language, more detail about the kids lives, Britain tabloids and more. Over all this book is giving you a full life journey of Princess Diana from start to end.

[Nadya Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful biography. This was about her life story! It included her early life and her present life until she go "murdered". No one really knows what happened and this book talks about all the speculations that could have occurred! The main character, of course is princess diana. The illustrations and photographs in this book a wonderful,the pictures are also in chronological order. The whole book is actually. It was very interesting learning about her life, and this book gives that to you!

[Micaela - Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about Princess Diana’s life and she was a very caring person who loved her kids so very much. Princess Diana was very close to her so William and he loved being with his mom and she loved both of her sons the same. When her sons found out that she had died in a car crash they were very upset, William was the oldest and took care of his little brother Harry. They have grown up into really good men and their mother would be very proud of both of them. I do love reading about the British Royal Family and I love the book so much.

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book, with loads of pictures, but also a detailed description of the people's Princess. I really enjoy this book, since the author made it look like you were really in the time of Princess Diana.

[Children's Literature Project · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful biography about Princess Diana's life as princess and humanitarian. The book is written for 4th to 6th grade.

Classroom uses:
- unit on biography
- classroom library

DRA: unknown