Posted on by TracyC

The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum

The Girl in the Castle Inside the Museum by Kate Bernheimer, pictures by Nicoletta Ceccoli, 2008.

In this story, there is a little girl who lives in a castle in a museum, inside a big, glass globe.

Children love to come to the museum and look at her in her castle. The girl also likes it when the children come to see her.

Although the girl in the castle has other creatures to play with and things she likes to do, like making music, she sometimes gets lonely when the museum closes, and all the children go home.

When the girl in the castle dreams, she dreams of the children who come to visit her at the museum, imagining their journeys to come see her.

When the children are visiting or when she’s dreaming about them, the girl isn’t lonely, but when she wakes up from a dream and there aren’t any children, she gets lonely again.

However, the girl gets an idea. If you, the reader, want to be her friend, you can give her your picture. When she looks at your picture, she won’t be lonely anymore!

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

My Reaction

I love the surreal, fantasy pictures in this book! We don’t know exactly what the girl is or why this tiny girl lives in a miniature castle in a museum. The book says that people claim “she’s lived there forever.” She is alive and has feelings, but she seems to be surrounded by fantasy creatures as companions in her castle rather than other people. She doesn’t seem to have parents or family. My theory is that she is a magical, living toy because the museum seems to be filled with other toys, the fantasy creatures in her castle seem to be toys with little wind-up keys in their backs, and the castle itself incorporates little toys and odd-and-ends, like buttons and marbles. However, the girl’s backstory is left up to the imagination of the readers.

This book breaks the fourth wall of the book, with the girl inviting readers to put their own pictures into the book and saying that the girl can see them through the book when they read it. Readers looking at the book keep the tiny girl company when she doesn’t have visitors to her museum. It’s not the first book that I’ve seen that uses the concept of readers keeping a book character company through their books. There is a book from the 1930s called The Tale of Corally Crothers, where a lonely girl with no brothers and sisters goes in search of a friend and finds you, the reader. (I haven’t found a copy of it myself, but you can see some pictures of this book on this site.) Books that involve the reader and invite the reader into their world are charming, and I found the fantasy elements of this particular book delightful!

Posted on by TracyC

Isabel’s House of Butterflies

Isabel’s House of Butterflies by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Susan Guevara, 2003.

The story begins by explaining that the forests of Michoacan, Mexico are a sanctuary for monarch butterflies, but that sanctuary is in danger because of logging activities. The large-scale industry is a major threat, but sometimes poor people living in the area also chop down trees because they need to sell the wood. The author notes that there have been efforts to preserve these trees, but it’s difficult to enforce laws protecting them, and no one is sure what will happen to the monarch butterflies if the trees disappear.

Isabel is an eight-year-old girl living with her family on a small farm, and the tree outside their house attracts butterflies on their migration route. She calls it, “La casa de las mariposas,” which means “The House of Butterflies.” Her family is poor, but they can’t bring themselves to chop down their special butterfly tree, like other families in the area have done. They love it that the butterflies appear there every autumn, and they think it’s a beautiful miracle to see them return every year. Sometimes, tourists come to the area to see the butterflies, and that brings the family a little extra money.

However, one year, there is very little rain, and they have a very bad harvest. The family sells their pigs and continues on as best they can, but their money is running low. They don’t have many resources left for money, and Isabel’s father is reluctantly considering cutting down their butterfly tree. He doesn’t want to do it, but he doesn’t know what else to do.

Isabel is distressed at the loss of the tree and the butterflies, so she suggests another plan to her parents. She often helps her mother to make tortillas, so she tells her mother that maybe they can set up a stand selling tortillas to the tourists who come to see the butterflies. The family decides to give Isabel’s plan a try.

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

My Reaction

The story ends on a somewhat hopeful note, but it bothered me a little because it’s not definite that Isabel’s plan is going to work. Isabel is hoping that they’ll be able to make enough money that they won’t need to cut down the tree, but we only see them getting set up, so we don’t know if they’re successful or not. I would have preferred to see them succeeding so we would know that things are going to get better, but the story just ends at that point, and it’s left up to the minds of the readers whether they were successful or not.

I think that hopeful but slightly worrying note at the end of the story is meant to reflect how people trying to preserve natural resources often feel – they have ideas and plans to help preserve natural areas and resources, but nobody knows for sure what will work or how well their plans will work. It’s realistic, if a little bit of a let-down. However, while nothing is guaranteed to be successful and life has its uncertainties, there is hope in the people who are willing to try different approaches to problems rather than simply giving up. The book does speak to the concerns that modern people, even children, have about the environment and the search for systems that work better than the ones that we already have.

The pictures in this book are soft, colorful, and lovely. Although the family is poor, they appreciate the small pleasures in their lives, like making the tortillas and the yearly appearance of the beautiful butterflies. I did also feel a little sorry for the butterflies the pigs ate, but the story doesn’t dwell on that part too much.

This book was published by Sierra Club Books for Children, and there is a small note with the publishing information about the origins of the Sierra Club, which is dedicated to protecting scenic and ecological resources.

Posted on by TracyC

Last Stop on Market Street

Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Pena, pictures by Christian Robinson, 2015.

After church, CJ and his grandmother have to wait for the bus while other people just get in their cars and leave. CJ is annoyed because it’s raining. He asks his Nana why they have to wait in the rain and why they don’t have a car. His Nana says that they don’t need a car because they have the bus.

The bus is interesting because many interesting people take the bus. The bus driver does little tricks, like pulling a coin from behind CJ’s ear, and there are interesting passengers, like the lady with a jar of butterflies and a man with a guitar.

While CJ’s friends, whose families have cars, go straight home after church, CJ and his Nana have somewhere else to go. CJ wishes that he could just go home, too, but Nana points out that the boys who just go straight home miss meeting so many interesting people. CJ does enjoy listening to the man with the guitar playing music on the bus.

CJ and his grandmother get off at the last stop on Market Street, which is in a bad neighborhood. CJ comments about how dirty it is, but his grandmother points out that people who surrounded by dirt know how to see what’s beautiful.

The reason why CJ and his grandmother are here is that they help out at a soup kitchen. CJ recognizes the faces of people he’s seen there before, and he realizes that he’s glad that he came.

This book is the winner of multiple awards. It’s a Newbery Medal winner, a Caldecott Honor book, and a Coretta Scott King Award honor book for its messages about appreciating and helping other people in a diverse community.

My Reaction

This is one of those picture books that I think can speak to adults as well as kids, maybe even more so because adults might understand some of the broader context of the story. CJ and his grandmother probably don’t have as much money as some of CJ’s friends and their families, which is why they don’t have a car. When CJ comments about why do they have to wait for the bus in the rain, his grandmother could have given him a straightforward answer about how they can’t afford a car, but that would have been depressing. Instead, she points out the positives of the bus and the people they meet. All through the book, she points out the positives about situations that both CJ and the readers can see are not entirely positive. It’s noticing these positives that help make the situation better.

CJ and his grandmother don’t have much money themselves, but Nana is teaching CJ how to help other people and build relationships with them. The people they meet are often poor people or people who are unfortunate in some way, but they still enjoy meeting these interesting people with colorful lives. There are times when CJ wishes that he could be somewhere else or doing something else, but yet, he also enjoys parts of where he is and realizes that what he’s doing is better than other things he could be doing. CJ and his grandmother experience the enrichment of life experiences and relationships with other people.

Posted on by TracyC

Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later)

Aunt Flossie’s Hats (and Crab Cakes Later) by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard, paintings by James Ransome, 1991.

On Sunday afternoons, a pair of sisters, Susan and Sarah, go to visit their Great-Great-Aunt Flossie. They love her house because it is full of interesting things, especially Aunt Flossie’s hat collection.

When their aunt welcomes them in, she offers them tea and cookies and promises that they will get some crab cakes later. After they have their tea and cookies, Aunt Flossie lets the girls try on her hats and tells them stories about them.

The girls are fascinated by the different colors and styles of the hats, but to Aunt Flossie, they represent memories. As the girls pick hats to try, Aunt Flossie tells them what the hats remind her of.

One hat that still has a slight smokey smell reminds Aunt Flossie of a big fire she witnessed in Baltimore. Another hat, one with a red feather, reminds Aunt Flossie of the parade she saw at the end of the Great War (what WWI was called before WWII).

Aunt Flossie’s favorite hat has pink and yellow flowers, and it reminds her of the time when she almost lost it, but it was rescued by a friendly dog. The girls love Aunt Flossie’s stories about her hats, and they love the crab cakes they get later with their family!

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

My Reaction

This is a sweet, slice-of-life story about an elderly aunt sharing her memories with her young nieces. The girls enjoy their time with their aunt, trying on the hats in her collection and getting glimpses of the past through her stories. By spending time together, getting together for tea (and crab cakes later) and trying on the hats, the girls are also building new memories. Years later, they will be able to tell stories about the afternoons they spent with Aunt Flossie and the stories she would tell them about her hats. A note in the book’s dedication indicates that the story is based on memories of the author’s own elderly Aunt Flossie.

The pictures in the book are colorful, like the colors of the aunt’s hats, and they’re also a little soft. I think the soft quality of the images is a good match for the memories the aunt shares with the girls and the new memories they’re creating by sharing stories and spending time together as a family.

Posted on by TracyC

Flossie and the Fox

Flossie and the Fox by Patricia C. MicKissack, pictures by Rachel Isadora, 1986.

Little Flossie Finley’s mother asks her to take a basket of eggs to Miz Viola because a fox has been troubling her chickens, and they’re too scared to lay eggs. The fox is a sly creature, and he always seems to outwit the hounds.

Flossie doesn’t remember ever seeing a fox before, and her mother tells her that foxes will do just about anything to get eggs. Flossie isn’t sure what she’ll do if she meets the fox, but she remembers what her mother says about how “a fox be just a fox.” She decides that doesn’t sound too scary.

On the way, Flossie does meet the fox. The fox talks to her, and Flossie can tell that he wants the eggs she’s carrying. However, Flossie refuses to be impressed by the fox and tells him that she doesn’t even believe that he’s a fox because she’s never seen one before. The fox is surprised that she isn’t intimidated by him and tries to prove to her that he’s a real fox.

For everything the fox says to try to prove his identity, Flossie has an answer to deny it. He points out his thick fox fur, but Flossie says that rabbits also have thick fur. His pointed nose also doesn’t mean that he’s a fox because rats also have pointed noses. A cat they meet verifies that the fox is a fox, citing his yellow eyes and sharp claws, but since the cat also has yellow eyes and sharp claws, Flossie says that isn’t proof of being a fox. Even his characteristic bushy tail isn’t firm proof because squirrels also have bushy tails.

There is one being who knows for certain that the fox is a fox – the hounds that chase foxes. Flossie knows that as well as the fox does.

My Reaction

The author’s note in the front of the book says that the author enjoyed listening to stories told by her family when she was young, and the story in this book is one that she remembered from her youth. She particularly wanted to tell this story in a rural Southern dialect, like the one her grandfather used when he used to tell stories.

I enjoyed this fun story where a clever girl tricks a classical trickster. She knows that the fox is really fox, but she uses the similarities between the features of a fox and the features of other animals to pretend like she doesn’t and to keep the fox attempting to convince her until she reaches a point where the fox can no longer pursue her. Knowing the author’s connection to this folk tale style story adds an element of coziness, imagining the author hearing the story as a little girl herself.

The time period of the story is indefinite, but from the characters’ clothes, it looks like it might be some time during the late 19th century or early 20th century.

Posted on by TracyC

The Talking Eggs

The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci, pictures by Jerry Pinkney, 1989.

There was a poor widow who lived on a small farm with her two daughters, Rose and Blanche. Rose was the widow’s favorite daughter because she was so much like her mother. They were both mean and bad-tempered, and they had grand dreams of becoming rich someday, although neither of them had the slightest idea how to accomplish that. Blanche, on the other hand, was a sweet girl, and her mother made her do all the work while she and Rose just sat on the porch, talking about all of their grand dreams.

One day, when Blanche goes to fetch water from the well, an old woman approaches her and begs her for a drink. Blanche gives her some water, and the old woman thanks her, telling her that she will be blessed for her kindness.

However, when Blanche gets home, her mother and sister yell at her for taking so long. They hit her, and Blanche runs away into the woods. Then, she meets the old woman again. She explains to the old woman what happened, and the old woman invites her to come to her house. However, she cautions Blanche not to laugh at what she sees there. Blanche promises that she won’t laugh.

The old woman is no ordinary woman, and everything at her house is strange. Some of these strange things are amusing, some are amazing, and some are just plain weird and a little alarming. The animals are all strange, with chickens of different colors and cows with curly horns. Then, inside the house, the old woman removes her head and puts it in her lap to brush her hair. Then, the woman produces a fancy stew from just one old bone. After supper, they go outside and watch rabbits in fancy clothing dance.

In the morning, the old woman tells Blanche to go out and gather some eggs before she goes home. Blanche is allowed to take any that tell her to take them and to leave ones that say not to take them. Blanche does as she is told, although the ones that tell her to take them are the plain-looking eggs, and the others are covered in jewels. The old woman tells Blanche to throw the eggs over her shoulder, one at a time, and when she does so, the eggs break and wonderful things burst out of them – fancy clothes, coins and jewels, and even a horse and carriage.

By the time Blanche gets home, she has many beautiful clothes, money, and luxurious things. Blanche’s mother pretends to be nice to her when she returns, but it’s only so Blanche will tell her where she got all the rich things. That night, when Blanche is asleep, her mother talks to Rose, telling her that she should also befriend the old woman and get the same rich rewards as Blanche. Then, they will steal all of Blanche’s things and head to the city to live the rich life that they’ve always dreamed of.

Of course, lazy and bad-tempered Rose isn’t as kind or hard-working as her sister. She ignores the old woman’s instructions and does everything she shouldn’t do. When she tries to force the old woman to give her riches, the old woman’s magic gives her and her mother their just desserts.

This book is a Reading Rainbow Book. It is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

My Review

There is a note at the beginning of the book that this story comes from a Creole folktale that appeared in a 19th century collection of folktales from Louisiana by Alcee Fortier. It resembles folktales from Europe was probably adapted from fairy tales brought to Louisiana by French immigrants. It reminds me of the Mother Holle story, where a kind, well-behaved, hard-working girl is rewarded for following Mother Holle’s instructions, while her spoiled sister is punished for laziness and disobedience.

The old woman in this story is a similar figure to Mother Holle, with strange powers and magical objects, but there is no explanation of who she might be. The fact that she can remove her head just to brush her hair shows that she’s supernatural, but we don’t know if she’s supposed to be a witch or some other supernatural creature.

Personally, I don’t think I would laugh at any of the things in the old woman’s house. I think the strange animals sound more amazing than comical. I think I’d really be impressed by the different-colored chickens and the cows with the weird horns. I have to admit, though, that if someone takes off their head, my first reaction would probably be to run for it.

Posted on by TracyC

Mirandy and Brother Wind

Mirandy and Brother Wind By Patricia C. McKissack, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, 1988.

It’s springtime, and “Brother Wind” (the wind personified) is striding through the valley. Young Mirandy is getting ready for the junior cakewalk, and she imagines that, if Brother Wind was her partner, she would be sure to win the cakewalk. Her mother says that anyone who can catch the Wind can make him do whatever they want, so Mirandy decides that she’s going to catch Brother Wind before the cakewalk and make him dance with her!

That’s easier said than done. Mirandy doesn’t know how to catch the Wind, and her grandmother doesn’t think such a thing is possible. She asks different people what to do, and she tries different ways of catching him. She tries catching him in a quilt, but he gets away.

Then, Mirandy tries visiting Mis Poinsettia, the conjure woman (a sort of witch or woman with magical knowledge), and she asks her if she has a potion that would help. Mis Poinsettia’s advice is to trap the Wind in a bottle of cider, but that doesn’t work, either.

Eventually, Mirandy manages to trap Brother Wind in the chicken coop. Once she has Brother Wind, he has to give her a wish. However, on the night of the cakewalk, Mirandy realizes that there is someone else she wants for a partner besides Brother Wind, and she asks Brother Wind for help in a different way from the one she had planned.

My Reaction and Spoilers

I thought this was a charming picture book, with bright, colorful illustrations that really conveyed that sense of lightness and air in the presence of Brother Wind! The old-fashioned clothing of the characters is part of the charm, and I like this sweet introduction to the concept of a traditional cakewalk. Cakewalks were a kind of traditional African American dance contest with a cake as a prize for winning. The people participating are dancing as they parade around the room, which is a little different from the cakewalks or candywalks that some modern people do at school or church carnivals as a kind of raffle game. In the game version, the players are just walking, not dancing, and they stop on numbered spots whenever the music stops, winning prizes if the number of their spot is drawn. For Mirandy, winning the cakewalk isn’t a matter of stopping in the right place but actually dancing well.

All through the book, there is a boy who likes Mirandy, but Mirandy doesn’t think of him as a dance partner because she has her heart set on Brother Wind as the perfect dance partner, and the boy is kind of clumsy. Mirandy really wants to win the contest, so it’s important to her to have the best partner she can. However, when one of the other girls at the cakewalk talks badly about the boy and his clumsiness, Mirandy can’t stand to hear him being insulted. She boldly declares that the boy will be her partner, and they will win in the contest together … with a little help from Brother Wind.

Posted on by TracyC

Harlequin and the Green Dress

Harlequin and the Green Dress by Laura Fischetto, illustrated by Letizia Galli, 1994.

What I love about this book is that it’s a fun introduction to commedia del arte and its stock characters! A figure that looks like Charlie Chaplin holds a card that summons readers like guests to a play and introduces our characters like this:

  • Columbine – “a scheming maid …”
  • Harlequin – “a sly servant …”
  • Pantalone – “a stingy old man …”
  • Punch – “who now heaves a hungry sigh …”
  • Rosaura – “a lady fair …”
  • The Doctor – “a menace … and”
  • Florindo – “a handsome knight.”

There is going to be a costume ball. Rosaura, a wealthy young lady, has a beautiful green dress to wear, but she is unhappy because her father, Pantalone, refuses to let her marry the man she loves, Florindo. Florindo is a poor knight, and Pantalone hopes that Rosaura will meet a wealthier suitor at the costume ball.

Meanwhile, Rosaura’s maid, Columbine, wishes that she had a beautiful dress so that she could go to the costume ball herself. She thinks that, if she went to the ball, she might also meet a rich man.

Harlequin is in love with Columbine, and he wants to do something that would impress her. He decides to borrow Rosaura’s dress and give it to Columbine as an anonymous gift so that Columbine can to go to the ball, but unbeknowst to him, Florindo is coming up with a scheme that will allow Rosaura to run away with him and get married. Florindo enlists his servant, Punch, to pretend to kidnap Rosaura, to provide a reason for her sudden disappearance. He tells Punch that he will know Rosaura at the ball because of her magnificent green dress, not knowing that Columbine has already received the dress from Harlequin and is wearing it at the ball.

Chaos ensues when Punch abducts Columbine, thinking that it’s Rosaura and that she’s just playing along with Florindo’s plan. When Punch says that he’s taking her to her suitor, Columbine assumes that he’s taking her to the secret admirer who gave her the dress.

In the meantime, poor Rosaura is having hysterics because she can’t find her dress and can’t go to meet her suitor. When Harlequin discovers what a mess all the scheming has caused, he comes up with another scheme to straighten out everything. Can he reunite Rosaura with Florindo, convince Pantalone to allow their marriage to take place, make her that Punch gets all the snacks he wants, and make things right with Columbine?

My Reaction

I love books that introduce lesser-known topics, and I imagine that few young readers would know anything about commedia del arte. For kids who are old enough to appreciate a little theatrical history and expand their cultural horizons, this is a fun introduction to an art form that they may have never seen before!

My first introduction to the stock characters was in Agatha Christie movies because Agatha Christie was fond of commedia del arte and put references to it into some of her stories, like The Affair of the Victory Ball. There is a section at the back of this book that explains the historical background of this type of theater and more about the characteristics of the stock characters.

I did think that the story in the book jumped around oddly in some places, and the role of The Doctor wasn’t very well explained. I think part of the reason was that the action would be easier to understand if we were watching it on stage rather than reading it in a book. The pictures are also chaotic and a little difficult to follow. I think they’re meant to convey the shifting scenes and the fast and chaotic movements of the characters as they go about their various schemes. The story itself is meant to be chaotic and action-filled because of all the characters’ schemes and counter-schemes. The action and visual jokes would probably make more sense seeing them performed rather than hearing them described.

I did like the part at the end, where we see the actors taking their bows and some of them removing their masks because the story was a play the entire time. The story isn’t meant for readers to see the characters as real people and events that are actually taking place. It’s all been a stage play the entire time. The pictures also indicate that it was always a play, with its flat scenery, objects at strange angles, and characters that seem to be separated from each other by thin walls. It’s all a bit unreal because it is unreal.

To get around some of the chaotic nature of the story and make it more fun for kids, I think this is a good book to read aloud with a lot of enthusiasm and maybe even act out rather than just telling it, encouraging young listeners to get involved in the story and the imaginary world of the theater.

Posted on by TracyC

The Mysterious Giant of Barletta

The Mysterious Giant of Barletta by Tomie dePaola, 1984.

This story is adapted from an Italian folktale. There is a note in the beginning about the town of Barletta and the statue that stands in front of the San Sepolcro Church. According to the note, nobody knows who the statue is supposed to represent, which is why there are stories about it. This one takes place during the Middle Ages, the 11th century.

Because no one knows who the statue is supposed to be, the people of Barletta call it, “The Mysterious Giant.” No one even knows for sure how long it has been there. It has been there for as long as anyone can remember, including Zia Concetta, the oldest person in Barletta. People are accustomed to gathering around the statue to meet each other, and many of them will give the statue a friendly greeting or wish it good night.

However, one day, the town is threatened by an invading army. The people of Barletta are unprepared for invaders, and many of them prepare to flee, not knowing what else to do. Zia Concetta appeals to the statue to save their town.

The statue hears Zia Concetta’s request, and it comes to life, climbing down from its pedestal. Together, he and Zia Concetta come up with a plan to discourage the invaders.

When the invaders arrive, they see the statue, sitting by itself outside the city, crying. When they ask the giant statue why it’s crying, it says that the other boys at school are mean to him because he’s smaller than everyone else. When the invaders hear that everyone else in Barletta is bigger than the giant statue, they decide that they don’t want to meet the rest of the townspeople and leave!

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

My Reaction

I always like books that reference folklore! The theme of someone who is large pretending like they’re much smaller than other people to scare off an attacker is one found in other folktales. For example, in Fin M’Coul (a version of which was also written and illustrated by Tomie dePaola), Fin M’Coul, who is a giant, pretends to be his own baby to make an enemy think that his father must be larger and more fierce than he actually is.

I particularly liked this story because, unlike other folktales, it has a real setting and a definite landmark, the statue that is sometimes called the Colossus of Barletta. The way it is drawn in the book isn’t exactly as it appears in real life. In real life, it holds a cross in the hand that is raised, although the cross was not part of the statue originally. It probably originally held a spear or a flag standard. It is about three times the size of an adult human, which isn’t as large as it is shown the book. As in the book, it isn’t certain exactly who the statue is supposed to be, although it appears to be the statue of an emperor. He appears to be a middle-aged man wearing a jeweled diadem. The reason why nobody knows exactly who it was supposed to be is that it wasn’t originally made or displayed in Barletta. It was probably originally looted from Constantinople by the Venetians. There is a story from Barletta that it was once lost in a shipwreck on the way from Constantinople and washed up on the shores of Barletta in 1309, where some of its bronze was used for casting bells for a monastery. Then, in the 15th century, the statue was restored and displayed in front of the church. That, by itself is a fascinating story, although it isn’t explained in the book.

Posted on by TracyC

Princess Hyacinth

Princess Hyacinth by Florence Parry Heide, illustrated by Lane Smith, 2009.

For reasons nobody understands, Princess Hyacinth is not affected by gravity, and she floats upward anytime she is not restrained or weighted down.

It’s a real problem because, while it’s difficult enough when she floats up to the ceiling of the palace, if she were allowed out of the palace without something weighing her down, she would simply float away.

Princess Hyacinth’s parents go to great lengths to make sure that she is always secured to something or weighed down with special weighted clothes and a very heavy crown.

Of course, being weighted down all of the time makes life difficult for Princess Hyacinth, too. She wishes that she could go outside and play and swim with the other children, but she can’t because she can’t be outside without the weights. There is one boy in particular who comes by her window with a kite with a crown on it and says hello to her, but it would be difficult for her to go out and play with him.

Then, one day, when Princess Hyacinth is particularly bored and tired of being weighted down, she persuades a balloon man to tie a string to her and let her float among his balloons. At first, it’s fun, floating along as the balloon man walks through the park, but then, the balloon man is startled by a dog and accidentally lets go of her!

As Princess Hyacinth floats upward into the sky, she is thrilled because she has never felt so free in her life, but where will it end? How high can she go, and is there any way for her to get back? Fortunately, there is a way for her to get home, with the help of a friend!

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive (multiple copies).

My Reaction

This story reminded me of a much-older story from the 19th century, The Light Princess, but this picture book is much, much less serious than that book. In The Light Princess, the princess is cursed, and the story is about breaking this curse that has afflicted her all of life. In this book, there is never any explanation about why Princess Hyacinth isn’t affected by gravity, and she is never cured. Instead, she makes a friend who helps her find a way to live with her condition and enjoy it.

I liked the art style in this book. I found it amusing that the king, queen, and palace guards are drawn in the style of the face cards in a deck of playing cards. Princess Hyacinth is a cute little girl, and when she’s wearing her heavy princess gear, you can almost feel the weight of it on her. In the end, there are still times when she has to be tied down, but she seems more normal, less weighted down, because she has found someone to help her deal with her condition.