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Summary: Fairy tale
Review: Tired of the usual Disneyfied blonde, sweet, graceful, elegant princesses? Read this book, in which we see a princess unlike any other. I'm glad that it will be reprinted shortly, as a fantasy story this good deserves to be read again and again.The story opens in the kingdom of Phantasmorania (great name, no?), where the seventh royal princess is born. At first, Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne appears to be like any other beautiful, good-tempered princess. But then a crabby but well-meaning fairy puts a two-edged blessing on her: "You shall be ordinary!" And she is. To the dismay of the royals and the court, Amy is mousy-haired, snub-nosed, freckled, and thoroughly graceless. She prefers romping in the woods to drifting around playing with a golden ball, as her sisters do. Dismayed, her parents try to rig up a crisis to get her married off. But Amy doesn't want to be treated in such a way, and has no wish to embarrass her family. So she sets off across the woods, and enters a neighboring kingdom, where she becomes a kitchen maid and has to work for the first time in her life. There she befriends a squirrel and a bird - and a mystery "man of all work" named Perry, who becomes her best friend... M.M. Kaye, best known for her tales of India and other exotic lands, pens a delightful little fantasy story. This is not an epic, nor does it have ground-shattering impact on the world. Instead it is a smaller, more personal story about an ordinary girl who happens to be a princess. Amy's love story is charming as well, since she and Perry CHOOSE rather than are chosen. It also adds an extra dimension to their romance, since they are friends as well. Amy doesn't give in to fate, she makes her own. I know this sounds like a feminist retelling, but it isn't. Believe me, there is no preaching in it - rather it glories in ordinary but overlooked virtues. The kingdoms in this book are delightfully overstated. The people in the courts tend to be overstuffed, pompous, full of hot-air, and dripping with jewels and impractical clothing. The blonde, beautiful princesses do not have individual personalities, nor do most of the kings and so forth. The more sympathetic characters like Perry, Clorinda, and the crusty water-fairy are both more relaxed and casual, and more realistic. And younger girls will probably want their own Perry. Writing is fairly un-detailed, but that is in keeping with the fairy-tale motif. Subtle humor is sprinkled through it, such as the fairy godmother's crusty but kindly attitude, and the joke about the prince of Kleptomania, who has to be watched carefully. The dialogue is realistic but never boring, especially when Perry and Amy are talking, or when the courtiers are gabbling among themselves. Problems? Well, it's way too short. There's no sequel. And the new reprinting -- ay caramba, who chose that cover art? It makes Amy look about five years old - she's supposed to be a teen! I do hope they retain her delightful internal illustrations, including Amy's soggy grandmother, Perry, and the little house in the woods. This enchanting story will leave you with a smile. One of the best, for people who loved "Ella Enchanted" and "Beauty."
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Summary: Great book for young or old alike
Review: I read MM Kaye's other books when I was in middle school (I was a precocious reader, yes). I was amazed to learn last spring, that she'd also written a children's book which was supposed to great, as well. I read Ordinary Princess in one big 'gulp,' and have since recommended it to all my friends who have daughters. The lesson about being yourself, being kind to others, etc. which is written so well into this book is wonderful (and it's not the sort of overbearing treatment which is found in so many childrens' books). It turns the traditional fairy-tale princess story on its head, and does so with charm. I enjoyed the book as an adult -- I wish I'd been able to read it as a little girl, too. This one deserves to be on the shelf with the rest of the 'classics' we often think of especially for young girls -- Anne of Green Gables, the Little House books, the Secret Garden, etc.
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Summary: This book ROCKS!!!!!!
Review: If you like books that are slightly romantic, adventurous, and have a happy ending then you'll love this book.
The Ordinary Princess is about the seventh princess in a rather large family. There's one catch though, this princess is Ordinary. Naturally since Amy is ordinary she isn't jumping to get married like her other six sisters. When she finds out that her parents are going to marry her off then she runs away. That, of course, all happened before she decided it was hard to be poor and she had to go to work, and what better place to work than the castle kitchens in a distant kingdom. While there she meets the king of the kingdom, although the king doesn't want her to know he's king so he calls himself a man-of-all work. If you want to find out what happens next just read the book. This is a good book for all ages.
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Summary: a must read!
Review: I was talking to my roommate the other day about the book that has had the most influence on me, and I all of the sudden remembered The Ordinary Princess. I read it years ago when I was in elementary school. I loved the book so much that I read and reread it over and over again. I think this was the first book I ever read as a child where I idenified with the character and looked up to her as a role model. Amy was "ordinary" when compared to her sisters, but she had spunk and feeling and a liveliness that made her a wonderful character to look up to. So many fairytales fall into a trap of convention: beautiful princess meets handsome prince and they fall in love and get married. This book is about two people with personalities who fall in love with each other for the people that they are. I highly recommend this book to anyone of any age as a timeless classic.
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Summary: This book is a humorous, delightful fairy tale.
Review: The Ordinary Princess is a delightfully humorous response to the typical handsome-prince-marries-beautiful-princess fairy tale. The princess in the story receives the gift of ordinariness at her christening. She then, in contrast to her beautiful princess sisters, grows into quite the normal little girl: brown hair, freckles, love of adventure, and a sometimes not-so-nice temper. Her horrified royal parents try to ammend the situation by marrying her off to some unsuspecting prince or duke, but no one will have her. So the King devises a desperate plan which leads Amy on the adventure of her life. This book is funny, innocent, and refreshing as it looks on the true worth of a person apart from her outward appearance.
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Summary: A fairy tale favorite
Review: This was one of my very favorite books as a child, and I was crushed when it went out of print and I lost my own copy. When I learned a few years ago that it was being re-printed, I was overjoyed. "The Ordinary Princess" is a delightful fairy tale with a bit of a twist -- the herione is NOT the mind-bogglingly gorgeous fairy tale princess we have come to expect. At birth, she is cursed by an ornery fairy..."You shall be ORDINARY!" Much to the embarrassment of the royal family, the curse immediately begins to manifest itself, and continues to do so throughout the course of the princess's life. She is overlooked in favor of her six extremely beautiful and perfectly-princessy older sisters. No matter what the royal court tries, Princess Amy remains as normal as any peasant. "The Ordinary Princess" follows the quest of Princess Amy to make something of an ordinary life for herself, to go along with her very ordinary appearance. During which time, she meets -- and falls in love with -- a young "man-of-all-work" named Peregrine. I shall not reveal to you how splendidly it ends, but it is absolutely charming. There are very few perfect books in this world, but this just happens to be one of them. It is clever and witty in its writing, charming in its story (as all fairy tales SHOULD be) and simple and sweet in its execution. It is every little girl's dream to be a princess, and this is an excellent princess story. Delightful from start to finish. I admit to not being overly fond of the reprint's cover -- I preferred the original cover art -- but at least all of the orginial illustrations are included in this. M.M. Kaye not only wrote this book, she also illustrated it herself, and the drawings only augment the tale, making it even better than it already is. I would recommend this book to anyone who asked me, and have, in fact, hooked quite a few of my friends on it. You don't even have to be a little girl to love it, my college buddies have adored it just as much as I always have. Read it. You won't regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: "My child, you shall be Ordinary!"
Review: When the seventh daughter of King Hulderbrand and Queen Rodehesia is born, the kingdom of Phantasmorania is in a state of extreme excitement. The birth of the seventh in a line of beautiful, blonde, angelic princesses, all named after precious jewels, is a special occasion. Baby Princess Amethyst is set to receive several virtues from the good fairies of the land, despite her father's misgivings, and the entire kingdom is celebrating. But things do not always go as planned, as one fairy in particular is in a bit of a grumpy mood, and not at all eagar to dish out any more Wit, Charm, Courage, Health, Wisdom or Grace - instead she bestows the infant with Ordinariness, and at once Amethyst's golden curls are mousey, her perfect nose is covered in freckles, and her previously cooing baby-talk changes into a very loud scream. As she grows, the stately name of Amethyst drops to the simple "Amy", and her days are not filled with embroidery and harp-playing, but exersions into the Forest of Faraway. Yet each of her sisters is eventually married off, and soon her parents despair of doing the same to her. A plot is hatched: to hire a dragon to ravage the land in the hopes that a Prince will come to rescue Amy, trapped in a high tower. Amy is disguisted at such a plan, and takes off for the forest, where she begins her own adventures... M. M. Kaye's "The Ordinary Princess" is without a doubt a charming book, made all the more so by her simple, realistic, and often whimsical illustrations. The creation of an ordinary princess is a welcome to the world of literature in which beauty is predominant among descriptions of heroes and princesses, and it was one of the first of many similar journeys into "ugliness" as a virtue (the most well known being "Shrek"). Amy is a good-natured, intelligent, polite girl, and her love story is natural and realistic (well, as realistic as a love story set in a fairytale kingdom can be). However, though the story will appeal very much to young girls, older readers might find the sheer simplicity of the story a little too easy for them. For them, the true identity of Peregrin the man-of-all-work is almost painfully obvious from the word go, and the somewhat cliched descriptions of palaces (marble, diamonds, chandeliers) may be a little well-used. Furthermore, Amy's "adventures" are not exactly adventurous - there is no dragon-slaying or evil-fighting, she simply spends time in the forest with her animal friends, before seeking out work in another kingdom and meeting her true love. Though M. M. Kaye made the first step back in 1980 in creating a strong female character without the vice of beauty upon her, there was still a fair way to go before women's quests in literature were not defined solely by finding their true love. Yes, I feel a bit mean critising such a sweet, harmless story, but blame my English lecturers and their lectures on the history of feminity in literature - they've made me analyse everything I read! On the whole, there's not a lot to truly dislike about this classic fairy tale, but for those who want to go a bit deeper into the issues raised in "The Ordinary Princess", try: "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine (which will appeal more to the older readers I mentioned earlier), "The Lioness" Quartet by Tamora Pierce, for even older ones, "A Frog Prince" by Alix Berenzy, a new take on the old fairytale, "Which Witch?" by Eva Ibbotson, who shares a similar sense of humour as M. M. Kaye, and of course "Shrek!"
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Summary: Treasure
Review: At age 15 I rescued this book from my younger sister's trash. I have shared it with college roommates, my students and continue to share the joy it gives me with my family. What a treasure! Girls and young boys alike will enjoy the trip with the princess and her man-of-all-work.
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Summary: Among the best children's books ever . . .
Review: I am so glad to see this book in print again. My mother bought me a paperback copy more than fifteen years ago, and it immediately won, and still holds, a place on my list of best books for children ever. Even now, though I am 26 and a second year medical student, I STILL have a habit of reading myself to sleep with it when I am stressed out (much, much nicer than a glass of warm milk). I am so excited to be able to purchase a nice sturdy hardback to replace my now tattered paperback, and I'm also relieved that I'll be able to share it with my daughters. I won't discuss the story here as other reviewers have done that already, but if you're looking for an excellent book for a girl aged 7-12, this is THE book. Really it would work well for younger girls, too, if you wouldn't mind reading it to them (and it does sound GREAT when read aloud). I'd give it 50 stars if I could.
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Summary: Oh my goodness! This is so very great!
Review: This is truly a great book! I'm in college now-- but I read the original copy (which until just now was out of print) every summer at my library! This is one of the sweetest books I've ever read (I don't like the cover as much as the old one...as long as they still include the author's drawings in the pages...) Seriously a lovely, sweet book ^-^
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