Saturday 14 September 2013

Goodnight Princess by Michelle Robinson and Nick East (Children's, Picture book, 10E/10E)

Look how cute she is!
July 2013, Puffin, 32 pages, Paperback, Review copy


Themes: trinkets, dolls, bedtime routines, imagination, lots of pink/purple/hearts, glass slippers, princess gown, castle and carriage, always smiling cat, castle ballroom, castle courtyard, castle garden

Content: cuteness

Summary from Puffin

As a little girl says goodnight to her dressing up clothes and dolls she is transformed into a princess in a magical realm. A beautiful rhyming text is accompanied by atmospheric illustrations which will delight and soothe all little girls as they snuggle up in bed.

Nayuleska's thoughts 
I loved the charming, imaginative way that the girl says goodbye to everything - it's a nicewinding down routine for readers to try. The toys are perfect for the princess theme, especially with the horse drawn carriage. Look out for the Russian doll on the bookcase, the castle cover books, and the heart theme. The princess meets a princess who has an amazing dress and smile. 

Updated 20th October 2013: 
After the explanation in the comments provided by anonymous, I have changed the grading to 10E/10E because all of what I didn't like in the paragraph below hae very sensible reasons for, and I'm happy to change the grade on that basis. I've left my thoughts so you can see them.
The only reason this missed out on being a 10/10E rated read is there are two small issues. The first is the girl's pjs - early in the book the trousers are white and purple stripes, which match the doll's top, but later in the book the white has vanished and the trousers are plain purple. The lack of continuity applies to the second reason, the utterly adorable white cat who appears half way through the tale - I'd have preferred it to be present sooner in the story. These are minor issues for This is a book readers will treasure.

Suggested read
Another girl who loves being a princess is Princess Poppy - she has lots of books including Princess Poppy: Playground Princess

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Nayu, I love your blog.
You seem to take great care to look through all the picture books for the tiniest detail and obviously really appreciate the illustrator's work.
I wonder if you might reconsider the 10/10E rating for Goodnight Princess for the following reasons: the girl's pJs are on the bed in the first spread – the striped pattern you can see are on the leggings she has on under her dress. When she finally changes into the PJs to go to bed they are the same ones as we see earlier on the bed, but slightly darker in the shadowy bedroom. The cat does appear half way through, but this is on purpose – in the beginning the girl is in her own bedroom/reality. Slowly the magic starts to creep in (stars) and then we are thrown into full fantasy with the horse and carriage. The cat appears for the first time at the steps of the castle, where it arrives to join the girl/princess on her adventure. When the girl is back in reality the cat disappears again. I do hope you agree and will reconsider giving this lovely book the 10/10E.

Nayuleska said...

Hi Anon, after that explanation it will be a pleasure to give Goodnight Princess full marks! Being tired all the time when I read can mean I miss things, so really appreciate the explanation. Will edit the post explaining the change in grade at the weekend when I do blog work.