Apple Pip Princess -- a book review

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Earlier this month I reserved some of our favorite apple books from the library for Peach's daily reading (or I should say my daily reading to Peach). I found a few titles we had not read before, and one, in particular, has really won me over. I think, when I reserved this book, I might have thought it was titled, Apple Pie Princess. That's just a guess based on the fact that when I opened the book to the title page I thought, "Ohhh, apple pip."

The Apple Pip Princess by Jane Ray is a sweet, fairy-tale style story with underlying "green" tones. I loved, however, that the green tones were not the harsh "go green" message that our media blasts at us day and night. The story speaks for itself.




From Publisher Weekly Review:
"Lyrical language and enticing gold-embellished illustrations distinguish Ray's otherwise predictable original fairytale. Resonating with echoes of King Lear and the Bible, her story is grounded in the traditional elements of the fairytale: three princesses, seven magical objects from nature, a kingdom saddened and bleak after its beloved queen's death and an aging king who gives each of his daughters seven days and seven nights to demonstrate which is most worthy of reigning after him. The two self-absorbed eldest erect lofty monuments that pay homage to themselves, but the youngest, little and shy and quite ordinary, Serenity, is inspired by an apple pip (seed to American readers) that, along with a lot of hard work and a little magic, helps her transform the desolate kingdom into a warm and blossoming community."

Peach and I have read this book several times thus far, and I have really enjoyed the illustrations, a most important part of picture books if you ask me.

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