My editor at Clarion Books just sent me a copy of a Such a Prince review in Kirkus. I’m happy to say that it’s a positive review. Reviews are not the be all and end all of one’s creative endeavors, but as some people who work in the arts will say, your creative project can be like a child and when you put it out in the world, you want it to be well received. You don’t want it to be ignored and you don’t want it to be beaten up. So I am somewhat relieved to find that the first review was kind. Here it is:
Bar-el adds plenty of shtick to his retelling of a folk tale sometimes called “Three Perfect Peaches.” He gives over the narrator’s role to Libby Gaborchik, a fairy who prescribes three peaches to “cure” lovesick princess Vera, then helps young peasant lad Marvin to deliver the produce (unlike his hulking brothers Sheldon and Harvey), and to outsmart the king when he tries to torpedo the marriage by making Marvin responsible for a herd of rabbits. Playing clear homage to ‘50s-style Disney cartoons, Manders’s comical illustrations pair a swain of Ichabod Crane-like skinniness and a red-haired princess with a tendency to leap about exuberantly –rather like the hordes of long-eared, pop-eyed white rabbits that bound allover the landscape, until they’re recalled by the magic whistle that Libby provides. In the end, the king surrenders, Vera sweeps Marvin off his feet and Libby closes with a small joke, because, “Laughing is good for your health. Trust me, I’m a fairy. I know these things.” A very funny rendition equally suited to reading or telling. Trust me.
Kirkus Review
September 15, 2007
http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/catalog/titledetail.cfm?titleNumber=100505
