Princess in Training

Written by Tammi Sauer
Illustrated by Joe Berger

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Hi-Yah! Splash! Zip! Zup! Zoom! Modern Princess Viola Louise Hassenfeffer wants to be the darling of her kingdom, but with her love of daring stunts and karate, she’ll never fit into the princess mold.  Throughout Camp Princess, Viola can’t seem to help but revert to her less-than-prim ways. A basic princess’ wave needs more “oomph.” The fashion walk is not nearly exciting enough without a moat-dive, and the dancing lessons are just too slow for her skate-boarding preferences. But even this modern girl can become the darling of her kingdom when her unique skills become useful by saving the director of Camp Princess.

What second grade girl has not felt out of place or not quite part of the in-crowd? Every person feels a little different from the rest of the group from time to time, but when we see our differences as useful and even vital, we can learn to love ourselves. Princess in Training is a fanciful way to reinforce self-love. Though this book is geared toward girls, after reading it aloud, second grade boys and girls should be challenged to journal about something that makes them unique, and why they like that unique quality.

This book may be used in a fairy tale unit to encourage students to write their own modern tale. For teaching ideas about a fairy tale unit, check out http://www.sac.sa.edu.au/Library/Library/Primary/literacy/fairytales.htm#teaching. Princess is Training is a delightful tale with bright illustrations. The text is timeless and the illustrations have a modern, graphic novel feeling to them.

  • Princess in TrainingTitle: Princess in Training
  • Authors: Tammi Sauer
  • Illustrators: Joe Berger
  • Publisher: Harcourt
  • Reviewer: Sharon Schulte
  • Hardback, 40 pages
  • ISBN: 978-0-15-206599-7
  • Genre: fiction/girl power/modern fairy-tale

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