[.ca] The Princess and the Pizza (ISBN 0823416836)

Wonderful Read-Aloud:
This book is an absolute hoot to read aloud to students or to your own child. My students range from average to gifted, third through fifth grade, and EVERYONE of them loves this book. The characters are very easy to "voice". Students also love to read this book to themselves. The illustrations just add all that much more fun. I'm buying two copies, since the library wants it back!

Who Wants to be a Princess Anyway.....:
Poor Princess Paulina. Her father, the king, gave up his throne to become a wood-carver, and she's really missing all the perks of princessing. So when she hears that Queen Zelda, of Blom, is searching for a wife for her son, Prince Drubert, she dusts off her tiara and heads for the castle. Paulina has no trouble passing the pea and mattress test..."That's so once-upon-a-time", or the essay on "Why I Want to Have the Gracious and Exquisitely Beautiful Queen Zelda for My Mother-in-Law, or even the glass slipper test..."For Pete's sake, you never heard of sneakers?" But the final task, cooking a feast worthy of a prince, is a bit more daunting. Especially when the other two finalists, a young lady with an impossibly long braid that drags across the floor and a girl followed around by seven funny looking little men, grab all the ingredients. Paulina is left with only flour, yeast, water, tomatoes and a block of stale cheese..... Mary Jane and Herm Auch have authored a wry and hilarious fractured fairy tale, starring a sassy and confident heroine, that's full of familiar characters and clever scenes kids will recognize from stories of the past. Her witty text is entertaining and engaging, and begs to be read aloud. Mr Auch's bold, bright and expressive artwork complements the story beautifully, and is full of wonderfully eye-catching detail. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, The Princess And The Pizza is a modern fairy tale, complete with a surprise ending with a twist, that's sure to leave readers satisfied, and with a big smile on their faces.

HILARIOUS TAKE ON TRADITIONAL FAIRY TALES:
A hilarious take on traditional fairy tales, "The Princess and the Pizza" is a very contemporary version of the eternal triangle - prince/princess/mean stepmother. Princess Paulina was down on her luck. Her Dad had relinquished his throne to become a wood-carver, a task he had yet to master, and she missed princessing. Why, hardly anyone watched her do the royal wave. So, when she found out that Prince Drupert needed a bride she was among the first in line. Regrettably she was in competition with twelve other wanna-be brides, and the Queen was extremely demanding. Nonetheless, Paulina didn't tumble for the old princess and the pea trick; she passed the essay and glass slipper tests with flying royal colors. But then, the greatest challenge of all, the remaining princesses-to-be must prepare a feast and the \oothers\c would be beheaded! Here's where ingenuity and a little luck come in handy. Paulina's pizza takes the prize, but is Prince Drupert such a prize after all? The Auchs have created an original, laugh provoking tale with lots of twists before a satisfying ending. - Gail Cooke