Recently our family went to Disneyland for a vacation get-away and everywhere you looked there were princesses. Big girls, little girls, old girls and young, every girl seemed to want to be one. Some got to by nature of the fact that they were hired on as Disney cast members. Their JOB is to BE the princess. (Can you fathom the endless adoration?)
If you or your little girl spends any period of time dreaming of what it would be like to live in a magical fairy land, wear a pointed hand, or make your face sparkle with glitter, then you might want to check out these two books, offered by Usborne Books & More.
The Usborne Illustrated Fairy Tales book is a wonder, truly. It has a cushy hard back cover to it and, as you can see from the cover art here, has fairies floating all around it with the dark and foreboding castle weighing in beneath. Really, this cover is beautiful. The book FEELS magic. I almost want to just keep it on my desk here to remind me that All is Not What it Seems all the time and that if I close my eyes I could find myself in another magical world in which there are no dishes for me to wash or toilet bowls to scrub. (Hey. Don’t mess with my delusions, ok?) But back to the book – if I had a little girl, which I do not, and she liked princesses, I would look at this book. On the inside you will find 10 well-known fairy tales including Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince, Cinderella and The Swan Princess. It opens with an appropriate introduction the likes of which tickle the ears and delight the imagination:
“Long ago, a king and queen lived in a magical castle….”
You can almost stop there, really. It’s beautiful! The book was designed by Nancy Leschnikoff and Helen Wood and is positively delightful in every way. The illustration style varies by story which I found most interesting. For example, for the tale of Beauty and the Beast, the illustrations are more classical and almost hard in a way. The characters take on more angular shapes, whereas in the story of The Emperor’s New Clothes, the pictures are very cartoonish in nature, adding to the hilarity of the story itself. Very nicely done!
Usborne’s Fairytale Things to Make and Do (with, please note, over 250 shiny stickers!), is the perfect gift for your little princess. This book offers plenty of arts and crafts ideas which can teach the young girl how to make creative tiaras, Snow White picture frames, Cinderella slippers and, of course, a magic wand! Cute, clever and very pink with a beautiful castle and princess on the front to spur them on. Usborne Books & More offers a variety of books in their “Make and Do” series which you can view here. The Fairytale title is merely one of many art and craft related ideas but perfectly joined with the Illustrated Fairy Tale book for gifting purposes this holiday season.
As always, Usborne Books & More offers top quality books and materials and I couldn’t remain more pleased with them.
Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know and Reading My Library.