There's a Princess in the Palace: Five Classic Tales Retold

by Zoë B. Alley, R.W. Alley (Illustrator)

In this hilarious collection of princess stories with a distinctive spin, there's Cinderella, who was, though you may not know it, Sleeping Beauty's mom; Sleeping Beauty, who didn't fall asleep because of the prick of a needle―it was sheer boredom; Snow White and her diminutive friends―Les, Lou, Sam, Hank, Nat, Myron, and Bethanne; the princess of frog fame; and the princess of pea fame.

Genres: Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Humor, Cinderella

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 14, 2010

About the author

Lives in Barrington, Rhode Island, and used to have a pretty fish named Yoshi, who liked to watch tv but, well, you know fish!

Received her B.A. from the University of New Hampshire, and her Ed.M. from Boston University.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Zoë B. and illustrator R.W. Alley, the husband and wife team who previously collaborated on There's a Wolf at the Door , return with this follow-up title in the same vein. Another massive picture-book done in comic-book style, it follows a series of related princesses through a humorous retelling of five traditional tales. Beginning with Cinderella, in which the young Ashley wins her prince after the fated ball, the narrative moves on to Ashley's daughter, Princess Dawn. Fated to become The Sleeping Beauty, Dawn is awakened by her prince in turn, but sets out on an adventure, becoming Snow White in the process. Eventually marrying her handsome prince, Dawn in turn has a daughter, Princess Misty, who loses her ball in a well in The Frog Prince. Finally, Misty's daughter, Princess Destiny must prove her royal bonafides in The Princess and the Pea...

Having enjoyed their previous foray into fractured fairy-tale territory, I was fairly sure I would enjoy this second book from the Alleys, and I was not mistaken. There's a Princess in the Palace presents an entertaining reading adventure, particularly for those already familiar with the five tales being retold. I liked the way in which these various popular princess stories were linked to one another, and I found the running commentary offered by the two sardonic mice quite amusing. Their final exchange, about being fond of the city and country, respectively, was a sly, subtle nod to the Aesopian fable of The Country Mouse and the City Mouse. The artwork here, which looks like it was done in watercolor, was quite expressive, capturing the humor of these retellings. As I said in my review of the earlier Alleys book, I'm not sure this would work with a larger story-time group, as the comic-book format, with all of its speech bubbles, will make the narrative quite long, but as a title for one-on-one reading, or independent reading on children's part, I think it will work very well. Recommended to young fairy-tale fans who enjoy humorous send-ups of their favorite stories.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This large book is an appealing hybrid between a picture book and a graphic novel, and it retells five classic fairy tales with silly twists, snappy dialogue, and lots of jokes and puns. I thought it was cute and creative, and I like how the author tied different stories together by having each happily-ever-after lead to the birth of the next story's main character.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A twist and retelling of five classic fairy tales that are somehow linked, and it all starts with Cinderella and the lineage of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, The Frog Prince, and The Princess and the Pea. Filled with humor, wise cracks and pun filled humor.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover enticed my preschooler to grab this massive book off the shelf at the library, but she didn't make it far into reading the book, as the pages were a bit overwhelming.

[Misbah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun retelling of our favorite princesses where they are related. These princesses are head strong and make their own destiny, they don't need to wait for a Prince to have an adventure.

[Julia N · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was extremely visually well done. I enjoyed the comic book type of layout that it offered and the story it shared.

[Blair · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m usually not a fan of comic strip type of books but I think this helped that this book was so big. The five stories were retellings but all linked together.

[Anna J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s a Princess in the Palace by Zoe B. Alley is a short graphic novel that combines the fairytales of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Frog Prince and The Princess and the Pea into one continuing story by way of making the characters related (Cinderella is the mother of Sleeping Beauty, etc.). This is a delightful tale in that the stories are familiar and remain somewhat true to the fairytales but have a twist, taking on a more humorous tone. This book is unique in that is a very large book that has very intricately detailed pictures laid out in a similar format as a graphic novel. This book will captivate young and old readers alike. (The only word of caution is that when it shows the transformation of the frog to human form, the backside of the boy is shown. However, if the reader owns the book, he or she can simply color the picture to make the character look like he is wearing pants.) Scholastic recommends this book for children ages four to eight.

[Molly Duerré · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first experience reading a graphic "novel" and I loved the introduction! I am a huge fan of fairy tales and I thoroughly enjoyed these mixed-up and crazy versions of some of my favorites. I loved that the stories were connected, and it felt like I reading the history of a family. The illustrations were wonderful; I loved that I got to see main characters from the first story (Ashley and Prince Charming) as grandparents in the later stories. I think that my favorite characters were the mice and the witch. It was nice to have another constant throughout all of the stories. The mice were hysterical and made the fairy tales more modern. I would definitely use this collection of stories in a classroom, either as an introduction to short stories (for older grades), or just as a fun reading of fairy tales for the little ones.

[Alyssa Weber · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a Princess in the Palace by Zoe B. Alley is a great graphic novel for young readers. Due to the amount of text and the organization of the graphics I would recommend this book for readers ages 9-12. This graphic novel is specifically related to fairy tales. It used comic strips to tell the stories of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, the Frog Prince, and the Princess and the Pea. The graphics are very colorful and are sure to attract the attention of readers. The novels are very short and therefore won't lose the interest of the readers.

In a classroom, I would have these books available for the simple enjoyment. However, I could also use these types of books with other books that tell similar stories. The students can then compare and contrast the different genres.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, the Frog Prince, and Princess and the Pea, told in a flowing graphic novel format. Humorous, semi-contemporary retelling of the classic fairy tales, one leading into the next as each "happily ever after" couple produces a princess to star in the succeeding story, with the Fairy Godmother's fumbling magic a recurrent theme. The Cinderella mice keep a running commentary throughout, and peripheral characters add snarky comments. The humor seems too sophisticated for the usual age of readers who seek out princess stories. Jon Scieszka's fractured fairy tales are much more entertaining, but this may appeal to young graphic novel enthusiasts.

[Michelle]

Awards: None (should be it's pretty funny)
Type: Graphic Novel
This book contains 3 different types of fairy tale stories, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White, but there is a twist to it all. This book is a fun entertaining book that will pass time or have students laugh if they get the jokes. I enjoyed this book because it wasn't boring and kept me entertained throughout the whole book.
I would not use this as a lesson or maybe it's because I would not know how to relate this to a lesson or creating a teacher prompt.
I would have this on my shelf for students read though.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started out following the original tale more straightforwardly than I was expecting, but the twists do develop. I didn't love the book -- I think in part because the princesses are often not very sympathetic (which I know is the point, and I appreciate that point), though there's also something else I can't quite articulate -- but I did enjoy it.

(This is a good review.)

[Brenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

By the people who brought you, There's A Wolf At The Door, in another hilarious compilation. Five fairy tales written as comics with the same wit and humor that made There's A Wolf At The Door great. We have the appearance of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty/Snow White, The Princess and the Frog and The Princess and the Pea. The catch is, they are all related. Each have their own personality and story. This book is great for all ages.

[Sam Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another ridiculous fractured fairy tale, There's a Princess in the Palace is the hilariously told true story of all of our favorite princes. However, there are a few things that we didn't know about their stories... The illustrations are almost in comic style format and the book takes the reader on a literal journey through each princess' story, however they are all convolutedly intertwined. I would use this book in my classroom to talk about fractured fairy tales and just to get kids reading.

[Lupine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A funny and cute retelling of four classic princess tales, each one tying into the other. There's humor, there's adventure and kids already familiar with the classics will appreciate these retellings. A good one for those girls who like princess books but are looking for princesses who are a little more interesting.

[Christiane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big, over-size book with clever re-tellings of five famous princess tales (including Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Princess and the Pea) with humorous, detailed illustrations. Give this to girl's who have outgrown the Disney princess books.

[Donalyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oversized, graphic novel-style pages provide a fun format for these hilarious retellings of classic fairy tale stories like Cinderella and Snow White. One story leads into the next and the mice provide clever asides and puns. Worthy of multiple rereads.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, delightful retelling of princess fairy tales. Illustrations are well done with great humor! Two little mice help narrate the tales with "ad-lib" comments.

Book is designed for older girls - although all ages especially adults will enjoy.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picture Book 13
The story was really cute and I love how they tied into each other. I really liked the illustrations with the text, sometimes it did get hard to follow the text boxes but there were arrows to show you which way to read.

[Rachel B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the outrageous size of this comic book-style retelling of five familiar princess European fairy tales. Downside - I lost my voice reading this from cover-to-cover for my kindergartner. But she wouldn't let me stop...

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun. My daughter really enjoyed this.

[Penelopeb · Rating 4 out of 5]

ADORABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clever and cute story combining many favorite fairy tales

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute retellings of five classic tales. Parents will definitely enjoy this book too.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was definitely fun to read although I found the size awkward. The graphic novel feel added a nice change from the norm and I enjoyed how each fairy tale led into the next.

[Debra Crosby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny take on the fairy tales

[Sarah Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed these re-tellings of five princess fairy tales. It was also fun to have the stories in comic book format.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, clever way of retelling the classics!

[Leyla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing, it made us giggle several times. I loved the connections, the mice, and the witch!