Princess Hyacinth (the Surprising Tale of a Girl Who Floated)

One of my granddaughters is into Princesses in a big way so of course when I saw this book I had to get it for her. Princess Hyacinth has a problem. If she is not weighted down, she floats. She wears a heavy crown and clothes have weights in them and her socks have diamond pebbles sewn on them. When she floats in the palace at night when she changes into her night clothes, all her parents have to do in the morning is get her down. Princess Hyacinth wants to float outside, but her parents tell her she will float away. So of course one day she goes outside and up, up, up she floats. She is able to twirl and zig and zag, but oh, how will she get down? This is a fun book to read with a child. The dialogue is good for play acting and the kids seem to like the story and the whirling and twirling and of course the resolution when Princess Hyacinth gets saved!

Like other Lane Smith books this one is quirky and beautifully illustrated. The layout is also fun (designed by Lane Smith's wife). The reading on each page is short - good for children with short attention spans and adults who don't want dry mouth after reading. Smith seems to love being involved in slightly off-kilter stories (as those familiar with his collaborations with Jon Scieska i.e. "The Stinky Cheese Man" will know). This book continues in that vein: Princess Hyacinth floats and there's nothing to be done about it; she is incredibly bored/lonely. One day she ends up floating outside. Just when it looks as though she will float completely away she's tangled in a kite string and a friendship is born. I highly recommend this book for little girls who love princesses and adults who are tired of them.

This book gets my highest ***GGG*** rating as empowering for girls. Yes, Hyacinth is a princess but this book is not just another princess book. Instead, it's a great example of successfully appropriating classic female imagery and narrative, making it wonderful and powerful. Princesss Hyacinth has a flowery name but not a flowery look. As a brown haired, brown eyed girl myself, I always appreciate when the star of a kids book has my (and my middle daughter) not so typically princessy coloring. This story is also great to explain narrative style to kids because it begins: "Princess Hyacinth had a problem." (I tell my kids every story has a problem because creating that problem helps them focus when they tell their own stories, which otherwise tend to go on and on and on.) Hyacinth has a magical power- her problem is she floats, so her parents keep her inside and weigh her down with a heavy crown (which shows kids being a princess isn't so great after all.) She has a crush on a boy who flies a kite, but she's not sure if he likes her or not. One day, she's outside and sees a bunch of baloons. She takes off her clothes, except for her royal underwear, and the baloon guy lets her float up, holding on to her with a string. He loses his grip, and she is off- somersaulting and flying about, having a great time. But her parenst are very worried, no one can find her or get her down. Suddenly, she is tangled up in the boy's kite, and he reels her in. After that, every day she goes out and floats and every evening, the boy she loves reels her in; then they go to the palace together and have tea and popcorn. I look at this as a perfect fantasy/ metaphor for love and marriage (and one that men have written about in various ways in grown up books and actually created in the real world for ages); Hyacinth gets to go out on her own, flying and having adventures, but knows the boys she loves understands and appreciates her unique magical power and will always be there to bring her safely home. For more info on toys and products empowering to girls check out my blog [...]

Princess Hyacinth looked like every other little girl. She had nice rosy cheeks, long, pretty brown hair she tucked behind her ears, and wore a cute little dress and a nice set of bloomers. You'd never know there was anything unusual about her unless you hung around her for a while. All of a sudden she would just float "up, up, up." Naturally this alarmed the King and Queen. They decided that something simply had to be done before they lost her so they had "little golden weights sewn into the hems" of her gowns and added a few other weighty things to her clothing. Poor Hyacinth. When she went to bed and took off all those clothes it wasn't a problem because when she floated to the ceiling five attendants with a ladder could always retrieve her. Hyacinth soooo wanted to go outside and play with the "children who came to play on the Palace Grounds." No, no, no. She would just sit in her little blue polka dot bathing suit lashed to a bench and weighted down with her crown. There was one little boy, whose name was Boy, who did wave to and visit her daily. She became so bored she waddled (you would too) to the park attached to all that heavily weighted clothing. She asked the Balloon man if he would tie her ankle to the balloons and let her float. That he did, but what happened next was horrifying. Hyacinth POPPED up into the sky when he let go. Would anyone be able to rescue the little princess? This is an uproariously adorable story that will give your youngster a case of the giggles. Many children's books center on one common theme or another, but this one was very unique. I'm not saying other children's books are boring by any stretch of the imagination, but this one was very madcap and a lot of fun to read. The artwork was very appealing and especially zany when everyone rushed to notify the king queen about the dilemma of their up up and away little princess. Even if you don't have a youngster who is prone to floating away on you, you're going to love this little tale!

I was given this book as a Christmas gift and I love it! The story is simple and easy to follow. Great book for young children.