Wednesday Book Recommendation

The book today is one that may be new to you, although I'm guessing most of you will recognize both the author and the artist (of the edition that I own). This story is yet another classic tale that my oldest sister gave to me many years ago - I've decided she has good taste in books (with the exception of Dickens - whom she likes and I don't). :-)

Today's Book Recommendation is:

The Light Princess by George MacDonald is the book of the day. The edition that I own was beautifully illustrated by Maurice Sendak in 1977. If Sendak's name is seems familar to you, he's the author of Where the Wild Things Are. Like most of the books my sister has given me through the years, I wasn't sure what to expect, but let me just say that I love this book! It has a king, a queen and a princess, a curse which brings about sadness to the kingdom, and, of course, a hero. Love it!

MacDonald wrote The Light Princess in 1864. It was originally published in a collection of works under the title, Adela Cathcart (which I have not read, but would like to get my hands on a copy). The Light Princess begins with the story of a king and queen who cannot have children. When a daughter is finally born, the kingdom rejoices and a party is thrown, but the kings own sister fails to get an invitation. Whoops! At the christening, the wicked aunt casts a spell on her small niece which causes the princess to lose her gravity. Although a happy child - always laughing - the princess never smiles and never cries. But it's not a long book, so I'll skip ahead...we discover that the princess regains her gravity when she is in water, and thus she spends as much time as possible in the lake, which is also where we meet our hero, the Prince. Skipping ahead...the aunt comes back in the picture and feels that she hasn't had enough revenge, so she drains the lake of it's water and the babies of their tears. They finally discover the hole in the lake and the Prince valiantly volunteers to plug the whole - though it means giving his life - so that the princess may have water to swim in again. Skipping ahead...get the book and see what happens. :-)

If you're interested in purchasing this book (with the Sendak illustrations) or the full reprint of Adela Cathcart, you can click on my Amazon links below to order it (Amazon Associates Link).

    

In the meantime, go check out what Jessica over at Life as Mom is reading these days!