Princesses [With CD]

The Barefoot Book of Princesses retold by Richard Walker, Illustrated by Olwyn Whelan This lovely quality paperback book in large format comes with a delightful story CD with world music. The selections of traditional favorite fairy tales includes one from many countries, and the end blurbs tell a little about each tale's origin. The Princess and the Pea, a world favorite, is presented as a Danish tale; The Mountain Princess is from Persia; The princess who Lost her Hair is from Akamba; The Birdcage Husband is a Kalmuck tale; The Beggar princess is Chinese; The Horned Snake's Wife is Iroquois; and The Sleeping Beauty is German. The illustrations, by the well-known Scottish illustrator, are delightfully bright spirited, modern, and whimsical.

My seven year old grand-daughter loved it!! We read it together until it was bedtime. First thing in the morning, she wanted to finish the book, thank goodness it was Saturday. She enjoyed all of the stories and did have a favorite.

This is a beautifully illustrated anthology of folktales from many cultures. I enjoyed reading it as much as the listener enjoyed hearing it. I did have to tone down some of the stories slightly based on our choices for our preschooler [they are traditional folktales, and sometimes violent, but not more than I was exposed to as a child!] and would not be upsetting to most older children. It is a lovely way to glimpse other cultures and traditions, particularly as the illustrations seem to mesh well with each story and culture.