Posted on by TracyC

The Five Chinese Brothers

FiveBrothers

The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Hutchet Bishop and Kurt Wiese, 1938.

Although this picture book has faced some criticism for promoting Asian stereotypes (largely about the way the characters are drawn), it has nostalgic appeal for some people and is still in print.  What I find interesting about it is that it is actually based on an old folktale, Ten Brothers.  Folktales of this type, where people with different types of super-human powers must help each other to overcome obstacles, can be found throughout the world.  Another story on this theme is How Six Made Their Way in the World.

In this story, there is a family in China with five brothers who look alike, except that each brother has a unique super power (listed by birth order):

  • One can swallow the entire sea, although only for a limited amount of time.
  • One has a neck as strong as iron.
  • One can stretch his legs extremely far.
  • One is impervious to fire.
  • One can hold his breath for an unlimited amount of time.

They live in a village by the sea and make at least part of their living by fishing.  One day, a young boy asks to go fishing with the brother who can swallow the sea (they don’t have names in the story, they’re just referred to by ability or birth order).  At first, the brother is reluctant to allow it, but when the boy begs, the brother agrees only on the condition that the boy obey him and return to his side as soon as he gives the signal.  The brother swallows the sea and allows the boy to collect as much fish as he likes from the empty sea bed.  However, the boy gets too wrapped up in all the amazing things he finds on the empty sea bed and ignores the brother’s frantic signals to return.

FiveBrothersSeaSwallow

Finally, the brother cannot hold back the sea any longer and releases it.  The boy drowns, and the brother is arrested for the boy’s death.  The judge decrees that the brother will be executed by having his head cut off.  Before the execution, the brother has a last request: that he be allowed to return home to say good-bye to his mother.  The judge allows it, and the brother switches places with his brother who has a neck like iron.

FiveBrothersHead

Needless to say, the execution doesn’t go as planned, and everyone is astonished when the executioner cannot cut off the brother’s head.  The judge decrees that he will be executed by drowning instead.  However, he does grant the brother’s request to say good-bye to his mother once again, giving him the chance to switch places with another brother who can safely face the next ordeal.

FiveBrothersBurn

The process continues through one form of execution and another as each of the brothers survives, using his own special power.  Finally, the judge decides that if the man (he doesn’t know there’s more than one, apparently) cannot be killed, he must be innocent and pardons him.

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

FiveBrothersFamily
Posted on by TracyC

Alissa, Princess of Arcadia

AlissaAlissa, Princess of Arcadia by Jillian Ross, 1997.

Alissa, the only child of King Edmund of Arcadia, feels like her life has taken a turn for the worse since she turned ten years old.  Before, she lived a basically care-free life, but now, her family has become more serious about her education and training as the future Queen of Arcadia.  Her great-aunts are mainly in charge of her education now, and they find Alissa to be ill-mannered, impatient, and stubborn.  In some ways, she is.  Alissa is bored with her lessons in the standard school subjects and hates her “deportment” lessons, where she learns etiquette suited to the royal court.  More than anything, she wants adventure and excitement.

To Alissa’s surprise, she meets a strange old man one evening while walking in the garden who promises her the adventure that she’s looking for.  At first, Alissa doesn’t know what to think about this strange old man, Balin, who seems to know everything about her, even what she’s been thinking.  He sets Alissa a “quest”, to solve a riddle to determine where to find him.  After pondering it for awhile, Alissa realizes that the riddle says that Balin lives in the oldest tower of the castle, where no one ever goes anymore.

AlissaBalinIt turns out that Balin is a wizard.  He’s lived in the tower for centuries and hardly ever leaves, so most people have forgotten that he’s there.  He offers Alissa lessons in magic and the kind of quests that she’s been craving.  He once taught Alissa’s father similar lessons, although he thinks that King Edmund has also forgotten that he exists.  Alissa eager accepts the offer of magic lessons.

At first, the only other person who knows about Alissa’s lessons with Balin is Lia, a servant of one of Alissa’s great-aunts.  Lia had been about to run away from her position as servant because she didn’t think that she was very good at her job, but Alissa caught her the night when she was going to find Balin in his tower.  The two of them became friends, and Alissa makes Lia her lady-in-waiting. Alissa enjoys having someone her age to share her secrets and adventures.  Her great-aunts disapprove of her choice of lady-in-waiting, but Alissa’s father appreciates Lia because she sees the better side of Alissa, her bravery and kindness, and somewhat helps Alissa’s impatience because Lia is a more patient, cautious person.

AlissaKingWhen Alissa first begins her lessons with Balin, she thinks that studying magic is turning out to be as boring as her other lessons.  Balin makes her do little chores, like dusting things in his tower, and he has her read books and memorize words.  Alissa is impatient to get on with the exciting magic, but Balin impresses on her that she needs to start out slowly and to recognize that magic is not the solution to all things.

Meanwhile, Alissa’s father is preparing to hold a banquet to celebrate a new alliance with a neighboring kingdom.  Now that Alissa is old enough to participate in such banquets, she learns that she must not only attend the banquet but be the dinner partner of the invited king, who she has heard is a stern man who is a stickler for proper manners.  Alissa is terrified that she will make a mistake during the banquet, anger the king, and ruin everything.

Her fears grow worse when Balin tells her that he has seen impending disaster in his crystal ball and a threat to the alliance.  Alissa begs him to tell her more, but he says that something is preventing his magic from seeing more.  All he has to offer Alissa are a few vague hints which take the form of another riddle.

Balin believes that Alissa is the only one who can solve the riddle, stop the danger, and save the alliance, but Alissa doubts herself.  She’s still afraid that she isn’t up to the task and will ruin everything, and she wishes that Balin would give her some magic spell to prevent her from doing anything wrong.  However, the best weapons Alissa has are the ones she already possesses: her wits, her desire to work hard for what she wants to achieve, and the new patience that she is just starting to learn.

One of the things that I liked about the story was that the visiting king, for all of his sternness and demanding nature with others, is surprisingly understanding with Alissa.  Some adults still remember what it was like to be young and awkward and impatient to grow up.

This book does not have extra information or activities in the back, as other books in the Stardust Classics series do.  It is currently available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC

The Great and Terrible Quest

greatterriblequestThe Great and Terrible Quest by Margaret Lovett, 1970.

This story takes place in a fictional kingdom during the Middle Ages. Trad is a ten-year-old boy who has lived most of his life with his abusive grandfather. He barely remembers his parents, who died in a plague when he was only four. This grandfather consorts with robbers and evil men. Trad often pretends to be stupid to avoid their notice and warns travelers away from their territory.

One day, he rescues a man who has been badly wounded and cares for him in a secret cave. This man, whose white hair makes him seem elderly, insists that he is on a mission, a great and terrible quest . . . but because of a head wound, he can’t remember what his quest is. All that he knows is that time is short, and he does not have long to complete his quest to find something very important.

Trad soon learns that his grandfather’s wicked friends are the ones who attacked this mysterious stranger. Taking Trad’s father’s old lute, a couple of coins, and a mysterious ring dropped by one of the robbers which seems to have once belonged to the stranger, Trad and the stranger embark on a journey across the land, making friends and pursued by enemies as they go. While the stranger struggles to remember his identity and the nature of his mission, Trad begins to learn a few things about his own forgotten past and the nature of his family. Nothing is what it seems. Their country is in trouble because of the evil men who have been controlling it. Everything depends on the success of the stranger’s mission, and Trad has a much larger role to play than he had ever dreamed.

It’s a beautiful and fascinating story about good and evil, loyalty, friendship, and determination to do the right thing, even against the odds. There are parts that might frighten younger readers. The fights are violent and bloody, and there are a couple instances of cruelty to animals (partly, it seems, to show how truly evil Trad’s enemies are). Still, it’s a great story for tweens and teens, and readers will want to cheer Trad on as he struggles to help those around him and find his own destiny.

Although the kingdom is fictional and the themes are similar to fantasy stories, there is no actual magic in the story.

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

Posted on by TracyC · 2 Comments

The Seventh Princess

The Seventh Princess

The Seventh Princess by Nick Sullivan, 1983.

Jennifer never remembers her dreams, so she doesn’t think that she’ll be able to complete the essay that her teacher assigned them to write: My Strangest Dream.  While she’s worrying about not being able to finish her homework, she dozes off on the school bus on her way to school.

Suddenly, Jennifer finds herself in a beautiful carriage being driven through a dark forest.  Jennifer is happy that she’s apparently going to have a dream that she can write about, so she decides to enjoy it as much as possible, trying on the beautiful gown, cloak, and jewelry that she finds in the carriage with her.  Eventually, the carriage stops at a huge palace, and Jennifer comes to the realization that the carriage never had a driver.

She is greeted by Duke Rinaldo, the Lord High Chancellor of the kingdom of Eladeria. Jennifer is informed that she is Princess Miranda, the king’s adopted daughter.  Actually, Jennifer is the seventh of the king’s “daughters.”  There were six others before her . . . and their fates are unknown.

This is no ordinary dream.  The king of Eladeria is ill, possibly bewitched.  The king’s son is missing.  There is treachery in the palace.  People live in terror of the evil enchantress Swenhild and her harpies.  Soon, they will demand a tribute: a golden-haired princess with blue eyes . . . like Jennifer, er, Princess Miranda!

The only one who seems to want to help Jennifer is her new friend, Samson the dwarf, who is the palace’s court jester.  He introduces her to his friend, Prospero, who can do magic and understands more of what’s happening than most people.  He tells her that her only hope is to find the Paladian Scroll and use its power.  Can Jennifer and Samson find this mysterious scroll in time?  It might still be possible to save the other princesses, but Jennifer worries about whether she’ll ever wake up in her own world again.

This book is available online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

One of the things that I love about this book is how it brings in some lesser-used fantasy creatures, like the harpies, and characters, like the dwarf jester.  The “was it a dream or wasn’t it” trope has been used a lot, but the adventure within the dream itself is fun, exciting, and very well-done.

Posted on by TracyC · 2 Comments

The Ordinary Princess

The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye, 1986.

“Lavender’s blue,
Rosemary’s green,
When you are king,
I shall be queen.“

Everyone is excited when a seventh princess is born in the kingdom of Phantasmorania.  Everyone knows that seventh princesses are always the luckiest and the most beautiful.  Indeed, when Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne is born, she is a beautiful baby who never cries and who has perfect blonde curls and blue eyes.  But, when one of her fairy godmothers, Old Crustacea, comes to the christening to give her blessing and sees all the perfect presents everyone has given her and little Princess Amethyst’s six perfect older sisters, she decides, “I am going to give you something that will probably bring you more happiness than all these fal-lals and fripperies put together.  You shall be Ordinary!”

Of course the king and queen are horrified, but there’s nothing to be done.  From that day on, Princess Amethyst becomes an ordinary baby who grows up to be an ordinary girl.  She cries when she’s hungry and tired.  Her golden hair darkens from golden blonde to a mouse brown and loses its curl.  She gets freckles!  Sometimes, she even makes spelling mistakes!

While everyone else is distressed at Princess Amethyst’s (now called Amy most of the time) lack of perfection, Amy realizes that Old Crustacea was right about it making her happier.  While her perfect sisters must behave themselves and keep their clothes clean, Princess Amy sneaks off to run and play.  She meets ordinary people, makes new friends, and has fun adventures.

But, eventually, all of her sisters grow up and get married.  When it’s Princess Amy’s turn, most of the princes aren’t interested because she’s not the beautiful, perfect seventh princess that she’s supposed to be.  Amy would be alright with that, but when her father and his advisors come up with an outlandish scheme to attract a prince that involves a dragon, Amy decides to put a stop to it by running away.

For a time, she lives a carefree life in the forest, but eventually, like all ordinary people do, she realizes that she’s going to need money to buy new clothes.  On the advice of Crustacea, she journeys to a neighboring kingdom and finds a job in the palace there as a kitchen maid. 

Actually, she finds more than that, finding her place in the world and someone who loves her for the ordinary princess that she is.

The book is divided into four parts, each of them titled after a verse from a version of the old folk song Lavender’s Blue (most versions say “lavender’s green” instead of “rosemary’s green”, although I do like saying “rosemary” better – this is the tune). The book also contains many small, black-and-white illustrations alongside the text.

It is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

I think this is a beautiful book with a good message for girls. Being glamorous or trying to conform to someone else’s idea of perfection doesn’t bring as much happiness as knowing who you really are and finding someone who loves you and wants to live the same kind of life you do, imperfections and all. Not every “prince” out there is looking for the same type of “princess,” just the one that’s right for him. In the end, Amy finds a king who is just her kind of person.

Posted on by TracyC · 3 Comments

The Plain Princess

The Plain Princess by Phyllis McGinley, 1945.

I would dearly love to see this book in print again!  It’s a charming modern fairy tale about a young princess who learns what beauty and happiness really mean.

Esmeralda is the only child of the king and queen, and she has just about everything that a girl could want. The author paints a pretty picture of Esmeralda’s charmed life at the castle and all of the beautiful things she has.

However, Esmeralda has one serious problem: she is plain. In her kingdom, in order for a girl to be considered beautiful, her nose must turn down, her mouth must turn up, and her eyes must have a twinkle in them. Esmeralda’s appearance is exactly the opposite. It is a serious problem because her plainness causes people to lose respect for her, and the prince that she is betrothed to refuses to take much of an interest in her.

Although her parents consult the finest physicians and wizards available, none of them can provide any solutions for Esmeralda’s condition. It is only after the king places an advertisement in the newspaper that a widow, Dame Goodwit, with five daughters of her own comes to the castle and offers a solution. However, she insists that Esmeralda must come and live with her family for nine months. At first, Esmeralda is distressed at leaving her home and living in much simpler circumstances that she is accustomed to, but the reasons soon become as plain as the princess herself.

As Esmeralda interacts with and becomes friends with Dame Goodwit’s daughters, Annabelle, Christabelle, Dulcibelle, Floribelle, and Echo, she comes to see herself and her old life at the castle differently.  At Dame Goodwit’s, she is expected to take care of herself and her belongings by herself, for the first time in her life.  She is given chores to do and becomes responsible for herself in ways that she never was before.  She also comes to see that, even though Dame Goodwit’s daughters are not princesses, in many ways, they are more knowledgeable and accomplished than she is, able to do many things that Esmeralda has never even tried before.  Little by little, Esmeralda learns and tries new things, even coming to enjoy her time with the family and becoming especially fond of little Echo, the youngest girl.  Her new experiences change her, her behavior, her attitudes, and eventually, even the way she looks.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Reaction

In spite of the fairy tale atmosphere, there isn’t really any magic in the story, as the widow herself points out. The real magic of the story is in the lessons that Esmeralda learns: that beauty and change come from within and that the way we see ourselves and those around us is important. For those who might be concerned at the emphasis on “beauty” and “plainness”, it soon becomes apparent that the outward signs of beauty really stand for positive character traits: humility, pride in one’s own talents and accomplishments, and unselfish caring for other people. The book also has some very pretty illustrations, some of which are wide scenes taking up two pages. It’s a beautiful book and a beautiful story for any young girl.

I don’t think that the book was ever made into a movie, but there are multiple versions that are stage plays (the link is to a video clip from a stage version of the story), including some that are musical.  I have seen a script for one of them that has added religious themes that weren’t in the original book, but the site has since been removed.  I’m sure that the script still exists, I’m just not sure where to find it now.  Some of the narrator’s and characters’ dialog was taken directly from the original book, but the religious parts were added.  As I recall, it implied that the princess’s personality changes came through the grace of God or developed as her religious side also developed, but I can’t remember now exactly how they said it.  I think it may have included some Biblical quotes related to the personality traits the princess acquires.  At one point, it was the only script that I could find available for free online.  There are other play versions that are available for purchase elsewhere, such as Dramatic Publishing and Steele Spring Stage Rights.