For Biddle's Sake is a charming yarn with multiple layers of subversive yet entertaining elements.

The story is based on a little known fairytale, Puddocky, with the classic Levine fairy tale elements: silly quests like finding a dog that will fit inside a walnut shell; humorous names like Princess Alyssatissaprincissa (sister of Countess Marianabanessacontessa); silliness such as distinguishing the twins by the size of their nostrils; and, the gratuitous normal-girl-meets-normal-prince through non-normal means.

"For Biddle's Sake" shares several of the same locales (e.g., Snettering-on-Snoakes) and character lineage (e.g, King Humphrey IV) as the Princess Test, which is somewhat comforting as these names can be tongue-twisters. As in the other books in the Princess series, Levine does a great job of portraying unsavory characters as capable of some redemption. For example, in Biddle, Randolph and Rudolph, while the bane of Tansy's daily life, eventually become comfortable with their place in the universe and co-exist with their brother.

Okay, I'll admit it. I am a Gail Carson Levine addict. I'll read anything she's written. But that's because she proves herself over and over and over. For Biddle's Sake, one of two new stories in the Princess Tales, lives up to the other tales in this series. Parsley loves, well, parsley. She won't eat anything else. The only place parsley growns near her parents' home is the garden of a fairy, Bombina, who is in fairy prison for turning too many people into toads (she's only allowed 5 a year). Alas and alack, the fairy is released and catches Parsley's father in mid-steal and ends up taking the parsley-loving mite home with her. As Parsley grows up, she becomes fascinated with the local royalty. The king has three sons, Randolph, Rudolph, and Tansy. Randolph and Rudolph are holy terrors who blame everything they do on their younger brother, Tansy, and get away with it. During the course of all of this, Parsley is accidentally turned into a toad by Bombina, the fairy, and wisked away to live by a stream. When the time comes to select the next heir, the king can't decide between the twins (R&R), and ends up sending all three sons on three quests.

Who will win the quests and become king? What is poor Parsley's fate? Buy the book and read for yourself.

Also recommended: All books in the Princess Tales Series, Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, R.K. Rowling

The fairy Bombina has found happiness in the form of a small girl. All is well - until the girl is the inadvertant target of a curse.

I use this book as a quick reference to all things royal in England & Scotland. It is full of beautiful color photos and very well-crafted.

I bought this book many years ago, and I still pick it up at least once a month. The book gives you the most important information of every king and queen who has ever ruled England or Scotland.

As I turn the pages, I can see that there is something interesting about every regent, and by the way; this book makes you realize that royal scandals are not a new invention.

I have now read through this book twice - once before each of my trips to Great Britain - and have found this book to be immensely helpful in understanding Britain's past and present. The book purports to be about the British monarchy, but in addition to thoroughly covering royalty, this book also covers a fair amount of history so the reader has some feel for the cultural setting of the monarchs as well. There are numerous color illustrations and photographs throughout the text, finely placed, and quite instructive. Each monarch has typically 2-4 pages devoted to their reign, with important dates and events set out in an easy to consult style. Some attempt is made to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each ruler and to assess how the British peoples fared under their guidance. In general, the presentation is fair-minded, following Shakespeare's dictum to comment on each ruler as s/he appeared, "nothing extenuant, nor aught set down in malice."

There are periodically pages devoted to related topics such as the origins of Parliament, the Magna Carta, Chivalrous Orders (such as the Order of the Garter), War of the Roses, coronation of the Prince of Wales, castle construction (explaining terms like motte and bailey), or Empire Building. Events such as the 1381 Peasants Revolt, the 1666 Fire of London, or the Great Exhibition of 1851 (sharing scientific advancements from the Industrial Revolution) are richly illustrated, with commentary provided to explain their significance.

The Kings of Scotland are discussed separately, with historical figures like Robert the Bruce or William Wallace being treated in the narratives. Eventually, the Scottish and English/Welch monarchies converged with with the coronation of James I in 1603.

In all, Plantagenet Somerset Fry has done an absolutely first rate job of creating an introductory book on the British Monarchy. I found it quite helpful in keeping things straight in my mind (e.g. keeping all the Edward's and Henry's and George's distinct.) It is an excellent book to read either for pleasure, for instruction, or for historical guidance while touring the British Isles.

If all you want is names and dates, then _Burke's Guide to the Royal Family_ is a better, more detailed source. But if you want more juice, the slightly gossipy chapters of this book -- one chapter per family group -- are informative and well-illustrated, and filled with odd tidbits . . . such as the fact that Queen Margarethe of Denmark is an artist who has designed her country's Christmas seals and also illustrated an edition of _The Lord of the Rings._

If you are wondering where Victoria's descendants are, this is the book for you. It is in two parts. The first part focuses on the families with many pictures from the author's own collection. The second part focuses on the genealogical information. The format is lucid and newcomers should have no trouble following the family lines. I highly recommend this book. It is a great addition to anyone's royal or historical library.

Queen Victoria's Descendants lists every known descendant of the queen as of the date of writing. It's a good starting point for those interested in royal history and a valuable reference work for historians and royal genealogists, but it's also an eye-opener for those who think Victoria's descendants are all rich, idle jet-setters.

I strongly recommend this book.

In this, her fifth book in the Plantagenet series, Jean Plaidy, renowned writer of historical fiction also known to her devoted fans as Victoria Holt, tackles the two most powerful women of the early thirteenth century, Isabella of Angouleme, the Dowager Queen of England, and Blanche, the Dowager Queen of France.

The heartbreakingly beautiful and sensual Isabella, a woman with little motherly instincts, had been married to King John of England, the most depraved, dissolute, and evil tyrant ever to rule over England, when she was just a child of twelve. John had been the youngest son of Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry II of England. Unfortunately, he did not follow in the footsteps of his father in terms of his ability to govern his widespread kingdom. When John died a mysterious death, both Isabella and England were freed from his tyranny, and his and Isabella's eldest son, though a mere boy of nine at the time, became King Henry III of England. Isabella was now the Dowager Queen of England.

Meanwhile, across the English Channel in France, Blanche, the granddaughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry II of England, had married Louis VIII of France. Her grandmother, Eleanor of Aquitaine, had handpicked her for that explicit purpose, as Eleanor had sensed in Blanche one such as she, a person with the wit and drive to be a strong queen. The marriage of Blanche and Louis had been a happy one, until an untimely death took Louis, who had been a well-meaning, though weak, king. Their handsome son, Louis, would become King Louis IX of France at the age of twelve. The beautiful Blanche, a virtuous and regal woman, was now the Dowager Queen of France.

When Isabella and Blanche would meet, it was clear that neither woman had much love for the other. When King John of England died, Isabella remarried Count Hugh of Lusignan, the man to whom she had originally been betrothed a lifetime ago, before King John had abducted her and made her his child bride. The fact that Joanna, her daughter with John, was now betrothed to Hugh did not deter Isabella from her determination to marry her first love. So, in addition to being the Dowager Queen of England, Isabella became a Countess through her marriage to Hugh, who was a vassal of France.

This was an untenable situation for Isabella, who despised Blanche and refused to give her and her son the homage that they were due. Isabella ruled her husband Hugh through her ability to provide many amorous and sensuous delights, causing him to commit many grave errors in judgment that were to cause much disharmony in his life. Isabella was single-minded in her determination to cause Blanche as much trouble as possible. She plotted and intrigued against the French crown and no perfidy was too great, encouraging her son, Henry, to try to regain the lands that his father, King John, had recklessly lost to the French. Blanche, however, was not oblivious to Isabella's hatred of her and, being a clever woman, made the necessary moves to keep her in check. One day, however, Isabella went too far and attempted the ultimate act of treason. It was an act that was to cause the tempestuous Isabella of Angouleme to come to an ignominious end.

This is a well-written and interesting work of historical fiction, revolving around two women who wielded a great deal of influence in early thirteenth century England and France. Replete with historical detail, the author paints a living picture of the political intrigues of the day. Historical figures are made three dimensional, adding a vibrancy to this enjoyable book, which those who love historical fiction of this period should enjoy.

This is a wonderful book! it is part of the plantagenet series and as the rest is beautifully written and full of historical information. Highly reccomended!

If you like your fairy tales uncomplicated, this is the book to have. It is a great, sturdy hardcover with beautiful illustrations. There are only six stories, but they are a bit more expanded than they are in "Disney Princess Collection" and they are also broken up into chapters, which is handy for reading out loud. Enjoy!

Most of the stories in this book are about 100 pages long. For each page of text there is a beautiful, Disney-worthy illustration. The stories are the classic triumphs of good over evil that the Disney generations grew up with.

The stories are split into chapters, which is a nice introduction to longer stories for little ones. I thought that my three year old might be too young for this type of book, and that I would save it until she is older. I was wrong.

I am currently working my way through the book with my 3.5 year old. She knows that she will hear one and sometimes two chapters per night, and then have to wait for more. She is very interested in the stories and loves looking at the illustrations.

I can't think of a better way to introduce discussion about "what will happen next" than stories that are divided into chapters. I can't think of a more pleasant bedtime diversion than this book.

I was so pleased to find this book!

Johnny Valentine writes light hearted children's tales which any child would enjoy. The characters of these stories are no different from any other story book and very subtly, all their parents happen to be gay or lesbian. This is done tastefully and without any mention of sexuality. A perfect opportunity to expose children, ANY children to the concept of same sex relationships, without it being a central focal point.

My own six year old loved the stories and never stopped to question the fact that one character has two mothers. I felt that this created the perfect building blocks of an open mind for my child. With most children's books portraying the stereotypical nuclear, heterosexual family, this book can add a bit of diversity to any children's library .

None of the stories have homosexuality as their main topic. None of the stories have sexual content at all. The stories are funny and moral and just nice kids' stories.

I highly reccomend this book to any parent looking to expose their child to alternative lifestyles in a gentle way. When we can recognize the people around us, in all their beautiful diversity, as the friendly characters from our childhood fairy tales, the world will truly be a more tolerant and loving place. For this reason, I highly reccomend this book to ANY parent

The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans, by Johnny Valentine, is a collection of five original fairy tales: The Frog Prince, The Eagle Rider, the Dragon Sense, The Ogre's Boots and The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans. Embedded within the stories are a cast of gay and lesbian characters.

In The Frog Prince, a little boy is adopted by two fathers. With this little boy's help, a frog becomes a prince again and is also adopted by the fathers. In The Eagle Rider, a young girl fulfills her dream of becoming an Eagle Rider whose job it is to watch out for dragons even though this is a privilege reserved for boys. In Dragon Sense, a young boy and his lesbian mothers are so poor they cannot pay the rent until the boy hears of an old treasure guarded by a dragon. The Ogre's Books tells a story of Little Jenny who is too small to do much, except save one of her mothers from the hungry giant ogre.

The final story is The Duke Who Outlawed Jelly Beans. When the Duke's parents go away an! d leave him in charge, the people of the village are devastated. Not only does he outlaw jelly beans, but anyone who does not have a mother and father is sent to prison. The children of this town see to it that they and their friends are not sent to jail. They strut about the town imitating the Duke and making silly speeches. Horses, for example, are forbidden to burp and pet goldfish have to be toilet trained. As the adults begin to think about these children's comments, they find it difficult to listen to and obey the Duke's speeches.

Many children and adults will find humor in Valentine's fairy tales. These stories are a humorous and needed addition to those which illustrate positive images of gay characters, including gay and lesbian parents. The illustrations are sparsely laid out in the book, but the text is full of imagination. Through the several color illustrations, various races are depicted. The stories do not focus on the gay and lesbian families, except for the! Duke who wants to imprison children who either have too ma! ny mothers or fathers, or not enough. This infusion of lesbian and gay people in peripheral positions in books for children is a refreshing change. These are truly stories for six- and seven-year-old children (and older) because they are not so much explanatory books as they are fanciful tales that all children should be able to relate to.

King Christian IX's children went on to illustrious futures from an undistinguished beginning. The eldest daughter, Alexandra, married (the future) King Edward VII of Great Britain. His second daughter, Dagmar, married (the future) Tsar Alexander III of Russia. His oldest son became King Frederick VIII of Denmark. His second son, William, was elected King of Greece and became King George I. Christian's descendants sat on the thrones of England, Denmark, Norway, Russia, Greece and Belgium.

This book is based entirely on published sources, but Aronson is a skilled writer and has written a smoothly-flowing narrative. The book is intended to focus on all of Christian's children, but ends up devoting most of its attention to Alexandra and Dagmar, who are the best-documented and (in many peoples' eyes) the most interesting. This is understandable, but by the same token it is a shame that more space was not devoted to say, Thyra, the youngest daughter, who gets so little attention. Other than that, the book's main flaw is that it really has no new information or insights to add to what has already been written. But Aronson does a good job of relying on huge numbers of published sources and the book is a good read.

Queen Victoria so dominated her time that the epoch is named after her. As monarch of the world's largest economic and military power, it's no surprise that her children and grandchildren married into nearly all the royal families of Europe, affecting history for generations to come.

What's more surprising is that that the unprepossessing sovereign of a weak and relatively backwater continental kingdom achieved essentially the same feat. It's the story of this sovereign, King Christian IX of Denmark, and his family, that Theo Aronson tells in this excellent and revealing book.

Prince Christian of Denmark was not expected to become king until a series of 'fortunate circumstances' made him heir in 1852. He succeeded to the throne in 1863. At his death in 1906, his children or grandchildren sat on the thrones of Great Britain, Russia, Norway, Greece and, of course, Denmark itself. Later generations of his descendants would add the thrones of Belgium, Spain, Romania, and Yugoslavia to the list, as well as the titular throne of Hanover. Christian's youngest son had been offered, and refused, the throne of Bulgaria.

How Christian and his family achieved all this is just a part of Aronson's fascinating tale. Not a biography of the King himself, it is in fact a portrait of an entire family, including his daughters Queen Alexandra of Great Britain and Empress Marie Feodorovna of Russia and their children. It is also a fascinating portrait of their times, and of the impact (great in some cases, limited in others) royal families can have on their nations and governments.

Aronson paints Christian and his family as by and large sympathetic characters. Though imbued with a deep anti-Prussianism, they also tended to be unaffected, cheerful, approachable (once or twice with tragic consequences) -- in short, very different from the stuffy and pretentious scions of some other royal houses. It was a pleasure to get to know them, and to trace their lives and influences over the decades.

This book was pretty good, but I think the stories should have extended longer. The three stories, The Fairy's Mistake, The Princess Test, and Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep, tell about girls back in time when fairies were real. Since I like these sort of things, I loved this book pretty much. The Fairy's Mistake kind of reminded me of Ella Enchanted, which is an excellent book. The Princess Test is a different tale of the Princess and the Pea, with a twist to it. Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep also is like another story, Sleeping Beauty, but also has a twist to it. These three stories are some I would recommend to anyone who likes pretty much all of Gail Carson Levine's books!!

Gail Carson Levine is best known for "Ella Enchanted," a smart retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale. But she's also penned a series of short novellas, the Princess Tales. Now three of these cute stories are available in a three-for-one paperback, that fans of retold fairy tales will enjoy.

"The Princess Test" is tried on Lorelei when she stumbles onto a castle. There, all the girls who try out are tested as to whether they are "real" princesses, and the girl who is deemed most worthy will marry Prince Nicholas. But Nicholas wants a girl he loves!

"The Fairy's Mistake" is a definite problem. Two girls encounter the fairy Ethelinda, and she gives them what they deserve: Sweet Rosella has jewels and flowers fall from her mouth, while nasty Myrtle has snakes and toads. The mistake? Now Rosella is held captive by a greedy prince, and Myrtle is using her "gift" as blackmail.

"Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep" is a twist on a familiar tale -- spinning wheel, enchanted sleep, fairy gifts and curses. But there are a few elements that weren't there before -- balding sheep, a prince who doesn't work out, and fairies who are getting a little competitive.

These stories don't have the length to develop the depth of "Princesses of Bamarre" or "Ella Enchanted," but they're nice twists on the old fairy-tales. Her heroines are endearingly smart and independant, the love interests are likeable, and the twists on the stories are cute. (Such as the "Fairy's Mistake," where the blessing turns out to be more trouble than the curse)

If you like retold fables or smart heroines, then the three-pack "Princess Tales" are a good light read, especially for those who like a humorous ending.

Gail Carson Levine has taken some of the classic tales of princesses and endowed them with her own magical imagination.
These stories of many generations of princesses of Biddle are
enchanting and delightful. Even though you may recognize the
basic stories of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, The Frog Prince and other tales, you will still enjoy the new twists. The narrator of this audiobook does an aadmirable job with voices and sound effects which add to the listener's enjoyment. These

stories are funny and endearing and are recommended for princesses and fairy tale lovers of all ages.

I would recommend these books to first graders that are excelled readers. For my daughters reading level, the chapter books at school seem to encourage children to talk back to teachers or parents, mock or play tricks on others and lie. The Jewel Princess series are wonderful fantasy tales with a good moral ending. Thank you Jahnna and Malcom!

This wonderful book is about Sabrina telling her friend, Atlanta, secret.Can their friendship be saved? This book is great for children who love adventure.

A good book showing what happens when you lie

The Spyglass is not just for grades K-5. Our Chief Technology Officer read this story to us during our last meeting, and most of us have graduated from grade 12. He is the wise king who peers through the wrong end of the spyglass and goes forth to tell all about his great visions and we are the poor peasants who will carry out his wishes.

What a beautiful enchanting story for all ages to read! I loved it, my children loved it! The Spyglass is a wonderful story to teach us (and our children) on how we view things in life. It taught me when we have faith and hope in our hearts we can reach for that which we thought was beyond our grasp. The illustrations were marvelous! I understand that this book is one in a virtues series, I can't wait to buy the whole collection. What a treasure to have! Thank you for writing a story with such uplifting values for our children! Keep them coming Mr. Evans!

THE SPYGLASS is the opposite of the "Enchanted Kingdom" books. It tells of a king and his people who regain their inner strength after a visit from a stranger. Children will enjoy the story, but there's an important message to be learned - you have to believe in yourself and others. This isn't done in a preachy way, but in the engaging text that parents and children will enjoy readng together. The paintings are beautiful.