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Summary
Summary
A Newbery Medalist and a Caldecott Medalist join forces to give an overscheduled princess a day off -- and a deliciously wicked crocodile a day on.
Princess Cora is sick of boring lessons. She's sick of running in circles around the dungeon gym. She's sick, sick, sick of taking three baths a day. And her parents won't let her have a dog. But when she writes to her fairy godmother for help, she doesn't expect that help to come in the form of a crocodile --a crocodile who does not behave properly. With perfectly paced dry comedy, children's book luminaries Laura Amy Schlitz and Brian Floca send Princess Cora on a delightful outdoor adventure -- climbing trees! getting dirty! having fun! -- while her alter ego wreaks utter havoc inside the castle, obliging one pair of royal helicopter parents to reconsider their ways.
Author Notes
Laura Amy Schlitz is the writer of the 2008 Newbery Medal-winning Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from the Medieval Village and the 2013 Newbery Medal-winning Spendors and Glooms.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Award winners Laura Amy Schlitz and Brian Floca collaborate on this quirky fairy tale. Princess Cora's daily routine is demanding and dull, with an overbearing nanny who expects her to bathe incessantly to stay clean, a father who obsessively times her as she jumps rope, and a mother who forces her to read dry finance books. "No one listens to me!" laments Princess Cora as she pleads for a dog in a letter to her godmother. A box soon arrives with a pink bow and a big surprise inside: a talking crocodile who states, "I've come to rescue you from your awful parents and mean nanny!" Reluctantly, the princess allows the reptile to don her dress and take her place for a day. Hilarity ensues as the royal couple and the nanny get their comeuppance from the clever crocodile. Meanwhile, the princess enjoys finding adventures in the fresh air. The crocodile completely steals the show, of course, and children will applaud its administration of well-deserved punishments. Narrator Angie Kane does a believable Irish accent as the nanny but can't quite bring the crocodile's wit to life. Floca's humorous illustrations rule, and the silliness results in the princess learning to bravely speak up as her parents finally listen to her reasonable requests. VERDICT This DVD would pair well with such books as Tomie DePaola's Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile or Fred Marcellino's I, Crocodile for even more crocodilian amusement.-Lonna Pierce, MacArthur and Thomas Jefferson Elementary School Libraries, Binghamton, NY © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Legions of schoolchildren will empathize with overscheduled Princess Cora, whose well-meaning but misguided royal parents insist that a regimen of boring reading, mindless exercise, and frequent bathing is the only way to ensure that she'll be fit to inherit the throne. After they refuse her a dog, Cora channels her simmering anger into a letter to her fairy godmother, which she then rips up-a toothless act of rebellion that Schlitz (The Hired Girl) infuses with magic: "Because it was a letter to her fairy godmother, every scrap turned into a white butterfly and flew away." Cora's godmother gets the message, delivering a pet the monarchs justly deserve: a crocodile with an outsize id and none of Cora's impulse to please. In illustrations that amplify Schlitz's wry humor, Caldecott Medalist Floca (Locomotive) produces a reptile that delightfully runs amuck. A mop wig and frilly dress let princess and croc to swap places, allowing Cora much-needed freedom while the crocodile trades insults with the Queen ("Reptile!" "Mammal!") and gnaws on the fitness-obsessed King (just a little). Utterly charming from start to finish. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Stephen Barbara, Inkwell Management. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Princess Cora's mother and father have the best intentions. Since being perfect in the eyes of one's parents doesn't entirely prepare a girl to be queen, they must train her. "A princess must be wise," says the queen, forcing only the dullest books upon Cora. "A future queen must be strong!" insists the king, overseeing Cora's jump-rope regimen. They even hire a nanny to see to her personal grooming (three baths a day because: "Do you want to smell bad?"). Cora longs for a dog to keep her company. The grownups say no, but her fairy godmother delivers a pet: a crocodile. It's not a particularly cuddly one ("I bite"), but it is devoted to Cora ("I'll only bite people you don't like"), and when the girl decides that a break is what she needs, the crocodile--wearing Cora's dress and a wig made from a mop--takes her place. Seven spry chapters detail Cora's much-needed day off and the crocodile's humorous attempts to impersonate her. Copious ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations are both delicate in their sensibility (the way princesses often are in classic tales) and witty in their execution (i.e., the crocodile is very poorly disguised). By the end, Cora's parents--who are actually quite progressive in their beliefs about a young lady's powers--have seen the error in their methods, with only minimal biting required. elissa gershowitz(c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Princess Cora, tired of her young life as a queen-in-training, asks her fairy godmother for a petwith unexpected results.When Princess Cora was born, the King and Queen (both white, like their daughter) exclaim over her perfection. But the realization that Cora will someday be queen turns their delight into an obsessive diligence in training Cora in dull topics punctuated by tedious exercise. Add the three-baths-a-day regime that her nanny (also white) insists on, and Cora is now one unhappy princess. Denied a pet dog, Cora writes an appeal to her fairy godmother, and the next morning finds a box at the foot of her bed containing a large crocodile. Schlitz's dry humor is on gleeful display as the crocodile, switching places with Cora (so she can have a day off), evens the score on her behalf with the King, Queen, and nanny. The crocodile's antics are juxtaposed against Cora's pastoral day and enhanced by Floca's ink, watercolor, and gouache illustrations, which superbly amplify the story's emotional arc. All ends happily. And the crocodile? He may or may not be living in the lily pond, but Princess Cora tosses in cream puffs (the croc's favorite thing besides chewing on people) whenever she walks her new pet dog, just in case he is. A clever tale packed with wry wit and charming illustrations. (Illustrated fantasy. 6-9) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Princess Cora leads a well-ordered life, with three daily baths, dull books to study, and a skipping rope for supervised exercise. After her royal parents refuse to give her a dog, her fairy godmother sends a talking crocodile instead. Alarmingly fierce-looking but potentially an ally, if fairy godmothers can be trusted, the crocodile appears to be the worst pet imaginable, but he's exactly what the princess needs. She takes a day off to run outside and play while the croc, dressed in her pink dress, upends her usual routine. By the day's end, when Cora speaks up for herself, her frazzled parents are ready to listen. An accomplished storyteller who knows her audience, Schlitz offers an original tale that seamlessly combines reality, magic, and wit. Floca's expressive pencil, watercolor, and gouache artwork perfectly captures the characters, from the well-intentioned but unreflective parents to the muscular, wild-eyed crocodile, who looks particularly ludicrous and cagey when wearing Cora's dress and petticoats. With fairly large type, ample white space, and lively, colorful illustrations on almost every page, this early chapter book is beautifully designed for newly independent readers. For younger children, it's a memorable choice for reading aloud in the home or classroom. Either way, it's great fun.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist