Eight Princesses and a Magic Mirror by Natasha Farrant, Illustrated by Lydia Corry, 224 pages. Norton Young Readers, 2020. $20.
Content: G
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
An enchantress has just been asked to be the godmother of a baby princess. The parents asked her to help their daughter become an “excellent princess.” This leads the enchantress to wonder what makes a princess “excellent.” To find out the answer, she transforms her magic mirror into a compact mirror and sends it out into the world to observe princesses. The mirror is passed from princess to princess through time and location, getting lost for centuries before the enchantress finds it again. Luckily, even though centuries have passed, for the enchantress, time moves differently so only a short time has passed from when she sent out the mirror. The mirror witnesses the lives of eight princesses, who each have unique challenges and characteristics. The story ends with the insight the mirror gains after its observations.
Farrant's tale had a magical, fairy-tale feel to it, mixed with a girl-power message. There were nods to classic fairy-tales, but the stories were original, making it an engaging book. Before reading, I worried that each story would have the same message, but I felt that each princess and each story was unique and taught a lesson I didn’t expect. I also appreciated that the princesses didn’t always solve their problems immediately, and some of their problems were self created. The novel contained girl-power messages, but really emphasized that there isn’t only one right way to be an excellent person. Overall, I enjoyed the stories, and I found that a few of them were exceptionally heartwarming and engaging. While the novel has a clear message, the story refrains from being didactic or overbearing. In addition to the stories, I feel that the illustrations would give this book high audience appeal—the cover is part of why I picked it up—and the illustrations were appealing throughout. I would give this book as a gift to my nieces, and I wouldn’t mind reading it aloud to them because it also had playful language that I think adults would enjoy.
Marinda Q., HS Teacher
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