Singing to the Sun by Vivian French and Jackie Morris - ESSENTIAL

French, Vivian Singing to the Sun, illustrated by Jackie Morris. PICTURE BOOK. Kane/Miller, 2008; first published in Great Britain in 2001.

EL, MS, HS - ESSENTIAL

A lord who does not believe in love marries a woman who only believes in gold and they have a son and make him study books and spells. After his 18th birthday they send him off to win the hand of one of three princesses, one whom brings wealth, one lands and the third love and happiness. The parents send him off with the court jester, still arguing over the value of land vs wealth. But the princess may have ideas of her own and being born a prince doesn’t bring wisdom.

While there seems to be a trend in rewriting fairy tales to make the girl be stronger, this trend also seems to make the boy look foolish or useless at the same time. This is a rare tale that lets the princess be strong, while showing the prince a path to actual happiness. This short book makes a powerful statement to counteract a movement that seems to have gone too far in the opposite directions. Teachers in elementary can use this as just a great stiry with beautiful illustrations, while middle and high school Language Arts teachers should make this a part of any unit about fairy tales. Even a Teen Living teacher could use this as a great opener to a discussion about gender roles in fairy tales and the modern world and the effect they have on our self-esteem or world view.

Cindy