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The Princess Tales
Series · 9 books · 1999-2002

Books in series

The Fairy's Mistake book cover
#1

The Fairy's Mistake

1999

Two very different sisters have two very different encounters with the fairy Ethelinda. Rosella is kind and helpful. Her reward: Jewels and gems tumble out of her mouth whenever she speaks. Myrtle is rude and spiteful. Her punishment: Bugs and vipers slither out of her mouth. The fairy Ethelinda feels she's meted out justice just right—until she discovers Rosella has been locked up by a greedy prince and Myrtle is having the time of her life!
The Princess Test book cover
#2

The Princess Test

1999

King Humphrey has decided it's time for his son, Prince Nicholas, to marry. But he must make sure the bride is a real princess. So he devises a series of princess tests, designed to weed out the phonies and the fakes. Meanwhile, Nicholas has fallen in love with Lorelei, a mere blacksmith's daughter. She's no princess, but he wants to marry her all the same—but how will she ever pass the terrible tests?
Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep book cover
#3

Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep

1999

In this hilarious retelling of "Sleeping Beauty, " Princess Sonora, who is ten times smarter than anyone else, vows to choose for herself the best time to be pricked by the spindle. Full color.
Cinderellis and the Glass Hill book cover
#4

Cinderellis and the Glass Hill

2000

Ralph said, "Rain tomorrow." Burt said, "Barley needs it. You're covered with cinders, Ellis." Ralph thought that was funny. "That's funny." He laughed. "That's what we should call him—Cinderellis." Burt guffawed. In this unusual spin on an old favorite, Cinderella is a boy! He's Cinderellis, and he has two unfriendly brothers and no fairy godmother to help him out. Luckily, he does have magical powders, and he intends to use them to win the hand of his Princess Charming—that is, Marigold. The only problem is—Marigold thinks Cinderellis is a monster! Gail Carson Levine is the author of Ella Enchanted, a spirited retelling of the "real" Cinderella fairy tale and a 1998 Newberry Honor Book. In this fourth of her Princess Tales, Levine brings new life and new fun into a little-known tale and proves that determination, imagination, and kindness can carry the day.
For Biddle's Sake book cover
#5

For Biddle's Sake

2002

There she was, chartreuse and warty and smiling at him. Such a nice smile. Something in his heart fluttered. The young maiden, Parsley, will eat nothing but parsley, which in Snettering-on-Snoakes grows only in the fairy Bombina's garden. All is well—until Bombina is released from the fairy queen's dungeon. Her crime? Failing to get along with humans. And turning them into toads! Meanwhile, twin princes Randolph and Rudolph are causing trouble at Biddle Castle and pinning everything on their younger brother, Tansy. Prince Tansy cares about Biddle. Randolph and Rudolph don't. But one of the twins will be king, unless Prince Tansy accepts help from a green Biddlebum Toad! A delightful retelling of the little-known German fairy tale "Puddocky," this fifth Princess Tale from Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine shows that nothing is quite as it seems and that anything is possible, with a dash of magic and a barrel of love.
The Fairy's Return book cover
#6

The Fairy's Return

2002

Boy meets princess, and it's love at first sight. Both laugh of the same jokes. Both are named after birds. His name is Robin, hers is Lark. Could there ever have been a more perfect match? But alas! King Harrumphrey won't let Lark marry a baker's son. And Robin is betrothed to someone else. Now toss in Robin's nonsense-talking brothers, Nat and Matt, their versifying father, and Ethelinda, the fairy who wrought havoc in The Fairy's Mistake, and you've got a "nutcrazical" situation! A hilarious spoof on 'The Golden Goose" by the Brothers Grimm, The Fairy's Return is the sixth Princess Tale from beloved Newbery Honor author and master fairy tale reteller Gail Carson Levine.
The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales book cover
#1-6

The Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales

2002

Ever since Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine introduced the magical village of Snettering-on-Snoakes in the faraway Kingdom of Biddle, young readers have been laughing their way through her hilarious retellings of famous and not-so-famous fairy tales.Now, for the first time, the six beloved Princess Tales are together in one magnificent The high jinks begin in The Fairy's Mistake, which pokes fun at a meddlesome fairy whose plans for good go terribly awry. In The Princess Test, the author spoofs the notion that a pea can prove a person's pedigree. Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep features a genius of a princess, a hundred years of snooze, two princes, and a flock of balding sheep! Cinderella is a boy in Cinderellis and the Glass Hill, and the glass slipper is a glass hill. In For Biddle's Sake, Parsley tries to forget her beloved prince and get used to life as a Biddlebum Toad. The road to happily-ever-after isn't easy when a baker's son and a princess fall in love in The Fairy's Return .Elements of the classics are woven into these not-so-typical retellings of "Toads and Diamonds," "The Princess and the Pea," "Sleeping Beauty," "The Princess on the Glass Hill," "Puddocky," and "The Golden Goose." The fresh and funny twists on favorite fairy tales will win the hearts and capture the imaginations of young readers everywhere.
The Princess Tales, Volume I book cover
#1-3

The Princess Tales, Volume I

2002

A kind sister and a cruel one. A charming prince. A spiteful fairy. A hundred-year snooze. A pea under a pile of mattresses. A kiss. All the familiar ingredients, but why is the punished sister happy? Where did that extra prince come from, and what does a flock of balding sheep or a fleck of tuna in a chocolate cake have to do with anything? Gail Carson Levine has waved her magic wand over three well-known fairy tales, and presto! They are transformed—and sparklingly funny-in these delightful The Fairy's Mistake The Princess Test Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep Happily ever after has never been so hilarious!
The Princess Tales, Volume II book cover
#4-6

The Princess Tales, Volume II

2000

In a land far, far away . . . A boy with magical powers to win Princess Charming's heart. A fairy who likes turning humans into toads. A true love forbidden by the King. A world of fairies and magic—what could be more perfect than that? But is it perfect enough to help a simple farm boy marry a beautiful princess? And if an unruly fairy turns a maiden into a toad, how does she turn herself back? And can a fairy—even a helpful one—change a stubborn king's law? Welcome to a land where Princess Charming saves the day, the prince must kiss the toads, and nothing is as it seems! Now in one volume, three hilarious chances at happily-ever-after from the Newbery Honor author of Ella Cinderellis and the Glass Hill For Biddle's Sake The Fairy's Return

Author

Gail Carson Levine
Gail Carson Levine
Author · 29 books

Just letting you all know: I'm only going to review books I love. There's enough negative criticism without me piling on. A book is too hard to write. Gail Carson Levine grew up in New York City and began writing seriously in 1987. Her first book for children, Ella Enchanted, was a 1998 Newbery Honor Book. Levine's other books include Fairest; Dave at Night, an ALA Notable Book and Best Book for Young Adults; The Wish; The Two Princesses of Bamarre; and the six Princess Tales books. She is also the author of the nonfiction book Writing Magic: Creating Stories That Fly and the picture book Betsy Who Cried Wolf, illustrated by Scott Nash. Gail, her husband, David, and their Airedale, Baxter, live in a 1790 farmhouse in the Hudson River Valley of New York State.

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