The Barefoot Book of Princesses

by Caitlín Matthews (Retold by), Olwyn Whelan (Illustrator)

This collection includes much-loved favourites such as 'The Princess and the Pea' from Denmark, and less familiar figures, among them 'The Beggar Princess from China' and 'The Horned Snake's Wife' from the Iroquoix of North America.

Genres: Childrens, Fantasy, Picture Books, Short Stories, Romance, Fairy Tales, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Caitlín Matthews is a writer, singer and teacher whose ground-breaking work has introduced many to the riches of our western spiritual heritage.

She is acknowledged as a world authority on Celtic Wisdom, the Western Mysteries and the ancestral traditions of Britain and Europe. She is the author of over 50 books including Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom, a study of Divine Feminine in Gnostic, Jewish and Christian thought and King Arthur’s Raid on the Underworld, a new translation and study of the Welsh poet Taliesin’s extraordinary poem, itself a major cross-roads of British mythology.

Caitlín was trained in the esoteric mystery traditions through the schools founded by Dion Fortune, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and Gareth Knight. Her shamanic vocation emerged early in her ability to sing between the worlds and to embody spirits. She has worked in many of the western traditions with companions upon the path including R.J.Stewart. Like him, she teaches the many strands of the ancestral European traditions. She specializes in teaching traditional European spirit-consultation oracles where the diviner draws directly upon the spirits of nature for answers and in the use of the voice to sound the unseen. Caitlín has been instrumental in revealing the ancestral heritage of the Western traditions through practical exploration of the mysteries as well as through scholarly research. Her teachings are couched in a firm historical and linguistic framework, with respect to the original context of the teachings, but never loses sight of the living traditions of these teachings which can be explored through direct application to their spiritual sources.

Trained as an actress, Caitlín is in demand as a storyteller and singer. She appears frequently on international radio and television, and was the song-writer and Pictish language originator for the Jerry Bruckheimer film King Arthur. With John Matthews, her partner, who was historical consultant on the film, she shared in the 2004 BAFTA award given to Film Education for the best educational CD Rom: this project introduced school-children to the life and times of King Arthur. She and John are both concerned with the oral nature of storytelling and its ability to communicate the myth at a much deeper level than of the commercial booktrade. This is apparent in their forthcoming project, The Story Box. For Caitlín, her books are merely the tip of a much bigger oral iceberg which is her teaching.

With her partner, John Matthews, and with Felicity Wombwell , she is co-founder of The Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies, which is dedicated to the sacred arts that are not written down. Their FíOS shamanic training programme teaches students the healing arts as well as hosting masterclasses with exemplars of living sacred traditions. Caitlín has a shamanic practice in Oxford dedicated to addressing soul sickness and ancestral fragmentation, as well as helping clients find vocational and spiritual direction. Her soul-singing and embodiment uniquely bring the ancient healing traditions to everyday life.

Caitlín’s other books include Singing the Soul Back Home, Mabon and the Guardians of Celtic Britain, The Psychic Protection Handbook, and Celtic Devotional. She is co-author, with John Matthews, of the Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom and Encyclopaedia of Celtic Myth and Legend. Her books have been translated into more than nineteen languages from Brazil to Japan.

The author lives in Oxford with her husband and son in a kind of book-cave or library, whichever you will. They share their home with a white cat and a black cat.

Reviews

[❀angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally gave this book 5 stars. It's a book from childhood and I always cherish books from then, because those books led me to become the avid bookworm I am today. It's a book about princesses with happily-ever-afters and vibrant illustrations, and so I gave it five stars without a second thought.

But I read it again today, and I'm so tempted to knock off another star in addition to the two I've already subtracted.

The book starts and ends with well-known tales, The Princess & the Pea and Sleeping Beauty respectively. It's absurd that pea wasn't smashed in The Princess & the Pea, but it was even more absurd when the prince in this retelling of Sleeping Beauty was able to pass through the wall of thorns for some unexplained reason when the other suitors died trying. But I didn't really have an issue those stories, or with the Bird Cage Husband or The Horned Snake's Wife. I liked those two.

The second story (The Mountain Princess), however, didn't make any sense. Those riddles were ridiculous. As I child I thought they were so clever, but when you think about it, they really don't make any sense! Even in a fairytale.

The third story, The Princess Who Lost Her Hair, was anticlimactic. She lost her hair because she was selfish, this guy gives back to her, they get married. Um. What?? She didn't learn anything!

And now for the story that made me so pissed off: The Beggar Princess. He marries her, uses her, and then when he no longer needed her, tries to kill her and leaves her for dead. But in the end she forgives him and continues to live as his wife. WTF?! No. Just no. Forgiveness is very important. But there are some things you just can't forgive.

[Stella Schaefer-Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here are my ranking and reviews of each story:
1. The Horned Snake’s Wife — totally valid to kill your husband if he is a literal snake pretending to be a human
2. The Princess who Lost her Hair — if someone (bird or human) came to my bedroom window and demanded some of my hair I probs wouldn’t give it to them either
3. The Sleeping Beauty — no version of this story I’ve read has the princess living in the woods with fairies,, where did Disney get that from?
4. The Beggar Princess — a classic tale of attempted uxoricide
5. The Mountain Princess — definitely a girl boss story
6. The Princess and the Pea — I have often thought this fairy tale was one of the stupidest
7. The Birdcage Husband — this story doesn’t sit right with me

[Anne Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though the art work here is a bit too comical for my taste, it offers a nice change to youngsters who already have a feel for the fairy-tale genre. I like the splashes of of color on each and every page. It's nice to see some beloved favourites, like "The Princess and the Pea" and "Sleeping Beauty". I love folklore, and am always happy to read tales from different countries, but I was more than a little underwhelmed with the stories that I read for the first time here; they seemed archaic, and not in a good way. (And this is coming from someone who adores history!) A few of the stories even horrified me; "The Birdcage Husband" was sadistic beyond belief. I cannot in my wildest daydream imagine ever sharing this story, or most of the others, with any of the little girls in my life.

If what you're interested in is empowering girls, instead of scaring them with sadistic stories, stories where they're mandated to place their husband's needs before their own, I would advise you to consider the wealth of award-winning folklore choices available through August House. Heather Forest, in particular, is an amazing storyteller; everything I've read of hers is beautifully written, age-appropriate, and guaranteed to stimulate youngsters' imaginations and enhance their love for the written word.

[Cana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mommy says: great collection of sumptuously illustrated fairy takes from around the world, most of which will be new to readers young and old. Although there is the usual happy ending = marriage, there tends to be enough of a twist that the princesses themselves are still strong, clever and brave and definitely their own people. Great!

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are stories from all over the world and I’d read only two of them before I picked up this slim book. The tales are wonderful, filled with insight, charm and wisdom. (I especially liked the one in which a woman angrily chastises her husband for treating her like dirt after their marriage.) The illustrations are colorful, if rather simplistic. Eyes are mostly the same shape and cheeks are represented as circles of color (albeit with interesting inserts like stars or flowers). However, there are plenty of details in clothing, architecture and scenery that distinguish one region from another.

This is a fine children’s picture book. I think boys and girls alike would enjoy it.

[Victoria Olivo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited that this book contained 5 stories I did not know. They were new to me and I enjoyed that there were distinctly different. The first and last story are The Princess and the Pea and Sleeping Beauty which are not new. The artwork was so so and didn’t seem to compliment some of the themes and darker scenes. The artwork was a bit misleading making that the over all vibe of the book was lighthearted when it was not. The four stars are for the introduction to the 5 stories I haven’t heard before.

[Madison Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Traditional Literature
Grade Level: 2-4

This book is really cool! I love how it explores stories of princesses from so many different cultures! It also tells the reader which cultures they are reading about! It was really cool to read and learn about traditional literature from so many other perspectives! Some of the stories were ones I already knew, but these still had differences to those I knew from my childhood. This book is an excellent way to explore similar stories told in different cultures.

[Dorian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up with the CD of this book. I know other people will criticize the sexist and violent elements of these tales, but I have always appreciated being raised with real fairytales like these. I was never exposed to Disney movies: just these. I think these tales influenced my ability to be creative and make my own stories. I also love how international they are- that they even wrote the Kalmyk tale as under “Central Asia” and not Russia :)

[Vasw Anastasaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was a little girl! I bought it from school bazaar when I was in the first classes of elementary school! Its no longer belong to me..But I still remember most of the stories of this book! Lovely memory!

[Mackenzie Navarrete · Rating 4 out of 5]

Date: 10/17/23
Genre: Traditional Fantasy
Level: 1st-3rd
Review: I’m not the biggest fan of fairytales or books about princesses but this book was different. This book is filled with stories about princesses in different cultures all around the world. It’s filled with diversity and focuses on how each culture's princess is unique. When I’m a teacher, I know it’s important to share fairytales with your students but I’d rather talk about stories like this. Real-life stories are more important to me to teach instead of something make-believe.

[Westley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairy tales revolving around princesses from all over the world.

[BookLover · Rating 4 out of 5]

The princess stories in this book are not the usual ones that you hear. I really enjoyed this book.

[L.E. Fidler · Rating 3 out of 5]

i love my toddler. she's precocious and funny and totally obsessed with princesses.

i'm sure it's a rite of passage or a phase or whatever other lie mothers tell themselves to permit their kids to read the crap they love without thinking of the dire repercussions (my fear includes a 20-something intoxicated fiona calling me up at 3 a.m. crying, begging me to tell her where her prince charming is...and me having to tell her that they don't fucking exist).

sigh.

i don't know. i'm torn. this is a cute little book chock full o'princesses with all the pseudo-empowerment typical of our generation's treatment of said-princesses. but the end goal is always marriage, the girl is always beautiful, and there's still perpetually the happily ever after.

of course, reading fiona The Stranger probably hasn't done her any help either.

[Sal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This, like all of the Barefoot books, is absolutely gorgeous. The illustrations are just lovely. The stories are very well written, so this is perfect for any little girls who can read but would like to look at pictures as well. Or of course, it comes with an Audio CD so you can just listen and look.
I had this book when I was a child and now my sister loves it too, just because they are such nice stories. There are some that are very recognizable, such as the Princess and the Pea, and others that come from completely different cultures, and therefore seem to come from another world.
A lovely book for princess stories that have not already been made famous by Disney.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the one I wish I'd had when I was a young girl. No one ever wants to tell you the story about the 15 knights who had their heads chopped off...that being said, it can be a bit graphic for the more sensitive crowd. If your princess is used to Disney and cartoons, you may need to prep her, first. What this book is: an amazing anthology of Princess stories from around the world. Beautiful artwork and stories that stay with you for a long, long time.

You can find this and other Barefoot Books at my website

[Amanda St · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has multiple stories about Princesses from many different backgrounds. They have Persian, North American and African folktales. My favorite was the Persian one about the Princess who was gorgeous but she had a cold heart and never loved a man but all were in love with her. She sent herself to a castle in the mountains and made men come to here. Many died on the venture there but one man prevails and he makes her heart warm. These are not Princess storied from Disney but really great folktales with meanings. I definitely recommend this book, especially to young girls.

[Seesters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains many stories of princesses from many lands. It was interesting to share them with my daughter. She was excited to learn there were more than the Disney Princesses.

[Hall · Rating 2 out of 5]

WE didn't read all of it...it was okay.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great collection of very non-commercial princesses doing very non-commercial things : )