The Ordinary Princess

by M.M. Kaye

Book Overview

Along with Wit, Charm, Health, and Courage, Princess Amy of Phantasmorania receives a special fairy christening gift: Ordinariness. Unlike her six beautiful sisters, she has brown hair and freckles, and would rather have adventures than play the harp, embroider tapestries . . . or become a Queen. When her royal parents try to marry her off, Amy runs away and, because she's so ordinary, easily becomes the fourteenth assistant kitchen maid at a neighboring...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0142300853
• ISBN13: 9780142300855
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: Puffin Books
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

We beyond loved it,

it is one of those delightful books I tried to make sure every one of my kids had a copy when they moved out on their own. Not just because I wanted to oppress my children with my preferences, but because it is one of those that was among their favorites, also! Without being too 'heavy' and with all it's cuteness, there are several valuable messages there as well. We not only enjoyed it, we appreciated it ;) [[Yep, I don't like aaallllll this particular author's books, but this one was a winner! ]]

M.M. Kaye's The Ordinary Princess: Ordinary and Fantastic in Delightful Harmony

One may know the story of the servant girl who gets to go to the ball, the story of the beautiful girl that falls in love with the beast, the princess that is finally awakened by a kiss from a dashing prince. But, it is quite possible that one may go half of her life before ever hearing the story of another girl, a princess in fact, who was born once upon a time in a land called Phantasmorania. She was christened Her Serene and Royal Highness Princess Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne--a name fit for the most beautiful and exraordinary princess in all the land. Special gifts were bestowed upon the baby at this christening celebration by the magical fairies of the land. All seems to be heading straight for happily ever after until the last fairy bestows her idea of a gift on the princess: "You shall be ordinary!" The kingdom is turned upside down. An ordinary princess? The king and queen may consider this gift a curse indeed, but it is what makes the story so endearing to readers. Traditional views of what makes someone noble and special are tried, especially what makes a woman beautiful and of worth. In a classically fairy-tale setting, a mythical land ruled by Oberon, king of the fairies, new-age ideas are considered and ultimately proven plausible. M.M. Kaye's story, The Ordinary Princess, is a refreshing new take on classical fairy-tale stories that enamors readers with its relatable characters all the while enchanting them with a somewhat fantastic plot and imagery. Because Princess Amy is so believable, readers are better able to walk along side-by-side with a princess and vicariously experience all her adventures instead of gazing longingly from afar. Kaye's story brings ordinary and fantasy into beautiful harmony: it is what makes this story the most enchanting fairy-tale you might've never heard of. It's never too late for this kind of magic. A princess is supposed to be fair, with hair golden, skin like wild rose petals and cream, and eyes as blue as larkspurs (3). A princess is supposed to be graceful, well-tempered, always behaving with the utmost dignity and poise. Kaye characterizes all six of Amethyst's sisters by nothing more than this description of what a royal princess should be. But, because of the gift bestowed on the little princess to be ordinary, Amy, as she was thereafter called (for "what could be more ordinary than that?"), is hardly those things at all (21). Amy was much more like us: she was imperfect. She had a stubbed-nose, freckles. She was gawky and had the "distressing habit of standing with her feet apart and her hands behind her back" (22). Already, an ordinary audience has come to relate to this ordinary princess. The audience can relate to physical imperfections, but the audience is inspired by the way Amy reacted to her imperfections and lived her life. It wasn't that Amy never was discouraged. Indeed, no. This facet of character makes her all the more relatable, realistic. But, s

A fairy tale favorite

This was one of my very favorite books as a child, and I was crushed when it went out of print and I lost my own copy. When I learned a few years ago that it was being re-printed, I was overjoyed."The Ordinary Princess" is a delightful fairy tale with a bit of a twist -- the herione is NOT the mind-bogglingly gorgeous fairy tale princess we have come to expect. At birth, she is cursed by an ornery fairy..."You shall be ORDINARY!" Much to the embarrassment of the royal family, the curse immediately begins to manifest itself, and continues to do so throughout the course of the princess's life. She is overlooked in favor of her six extremely beautiful and perfectly-princessy older sisters. No matter what the royal court tries, Princess Amy remains as normal as any peasant."The Ordinary Princess" follows the quest of Princess Amy to make something of an ordinary life for herself, to go along with her very ordinary appearance. During which time, she meets -- and falls in love with -- a young "man-of-all-work" named Peregrine.I shall not reveal to you how splendidly it ends, but it is absolutely charming. There are very few perfect books in this world, but this just happens to be one of them. It is clever and witty in its writing, charming in its story (as all fairy tales SHOULD be) and simple and sweet in its execution. It is every little girl's dream to be a princess, and this is an excellent princess story. Delightful from start to finish.I admit to not being overly fond of the reprint's cover -- I preferred the original cover art -- but at least all of the orginial illustrations are included in this. M.M. Kaye not only wrote this book, she also illustrated it herself, and the drawings only augment the tale, making it even better than it already is.I would recommend this book to anyone who asked me, and have, in fact, hooked quite a few of my friends on it. You don't even have to be a little girl to love it, my college buddies have adored it just as much as I always have.Read it. You won't regret it.

Fairy tale

Tired of the usual Disneyfied blonde, sweet, graceful, elegant princesses? Read this book, in which we see a princess unlike any other. I'm glad that it will be reprinted shortly, as a fantasy story this good deserves to be read again and again.The story opens in the kingdom of Phantasmorania (great name, no?), where the seventh royal princess is born. At first, Amethyst Alexandra Augusta Araminta Adelaide Aurelia Anne appears to be like any other beautiful, good-tempered princess. But then a crabby but well-meaning fairy puts a two-edged blessing on her: "You shall be ordinary!" And she is. To the dismay of the royals and the court, Amy is mousy-haired, snub-nosed, freckled, and thoroughly graceless. She prefers romping in the woods to drifting around playing with a golden ball, as her sisters do.Dismayed, her parents try to rig up a crisis to get her married off. But Amy doesn't want to be treated in such a way, and has no wish to embarrass her family. So she sets off across the woods, and enters a neighboring kingdom, where she becomes a kitchen maid and has to work for the first time in her life. There she befriends a squirrel and a bird - and a mystery "man of all work" named Perry, who becomes her best friend...M.M. Kaye, best known for her tales of India and other exotic lands, pens a delightful little fantasy story. This is not an epic, nor does it have ground-shattering impact on the world. Instead it is a smaller, more personal story about an ordinary girl who happens to be a princess. Amy's love story is charming as well, since she and Perry CHOOSE rather than are chosen. It also adds an extra dimension to their romance, since they are friends as well. Amy doesn't give in to fate, she makes her own. I know this sounds like a feminist retelling, but it isn't. Believe me, there is no preaching in it - rather it glories in ordinary but overlooked virtues.The kingdoms in this book are delightfully overstated. The people in the courts tend to be overstuffed, pompous, full of hot-air, and dripping with jewels and impractical clothing. The blonde, beautiful princesses do not have individual personalities, nor do most of the kings and so forth. The more sympathetic characters like Perry, Clorinda, and the crusty water-fairy are both more relaxed and casual, and more realistic. And younger girls will probably want their own Perry.Writing is fairly un-detailed, but that is in keeping with the fairy-tale motif. Subtle humor is sprinkled through it, such as the fairy godmother's crusty but kindly attitude, and the joke about the prince of Kleptomania, who has to be watched carefully. The dialogue is realistic but never boring, especially when Perry and Amy are talking, or when the courtiers are gabbling among themselves. Problems? Well, it's way too short. There's no sequel. And the new reprinting -- ay caramba, who chose that cover art? It makes Amy look about five years old - she's supposed to be a teen! I do hope they retain her delightful inte

a must read!

I was talking to my roommate the other day about the book that has had the most influence on me, and I all of the sudden remembered The Ordinary Princess. I read it years ago when I was in elementary school. I loved the book so much that I read and reread it over and over again. I think this was the first book I ever read as a child where I idenified with the character and looked up to her as a role model. Amy was "ordinary" when compared to her sisters, but she had spunk and feeling and a liveliness that made her a wonderful character to look up to. So many fairytales fall into a trap of convention: beautiful princess meets handsome prince and they fall in love and get married. This book is about two people with personalities who fall in love with each other for the people that they are. I highly recommend this book to anyone of any age as a timeless classic.

This book is a humorous, delightful fairy tale.

The Ordinary Princess is a delightfully humorous response to the typical handsome-prince-marries-beautiful-princess fairy tale. The princess in the story receives the gift of ordinariness at her christening. She then, in contrast to her beautiful princess sisters, grows into quite the normal little girl: brown hair, freckles, love of adventure, and a sometimes not-so-nice temper. Her horrified royal parents try to ammend the situation by marrying her off to some unsuspecting prince or duke, but no one will have her. So the King devises a desperate plan which leads Amy on the adventure of her life. This book is funny, innocent, and refreshing as it looks on the true worth of a person apart from her outward appearance.