After seeing the A&E production of "Victoria and Albert," I was curious to know more about the lives of the said characters (I'm also a history major so that helps, too). I was browsing through my university's library to find this book on Prince Albert and I read it. I just finished reading it today and wow, this is a stellar book. It's so comprehensive that my mind almost exploded while reading it. There were some minor details that could've been left out, hence the four star rating. I plan to read more about Victoria and Albert in the future. So take my advice. Treat yourself to this wonderful book and put it in your personal library. I'll be sure to buy this book when I have the chance.

I questioned myself before i picked up this book in the library; brought up as a good Englishman, i already knew all i wanted or needed about the Prince Consort, and was unimpressed with it, nor did i care to learn any more. Now i see i was quite correct in my questioning, and i'm afraid i may have to change my long-held, and therefore cherished, beliefs about him. Darn intellectual honesty, anyway! Weintraub's Albert was a responsible, educated, thinking man, thrust into a situation both wonderful and intolerable (his marriage and lack of acceptance in England, respectively). Weintraub shows him as having enjoyed the one side and, through hard work and dedication, partially overcome the other. One is left to wonder, as Weintraub indeed does, what would the monarchy be today had Albert lived as long as Victoria. Surely there would be some differences. On the basis of this book, it is not fair to say (as a previous reviewer did) that Albert laid the foundation for the pax Britannica; he did, however, through his fecundity, insight into both politics and industry, and though a great deal of hard work, aid the shaping of Europe through the First World War. As i look back now, it is hard for me exactly to define just why i have disliked His Royal Highness; i suspect it has to do with his rather poor treatment of his eldest son, the Prince of Wales, which Weintraub does not gloss over, but implies was deserved; also the wreck Victoria made of her life after he died, which really can't be laid at his door; also, though i am probably of the last generation to instinctively feel nothng good can come from Germany, the man was a German (though not a Prussion, at least). Two hundred plus years of racial dislike are hard to overcome. I would not say that i have yet overcome them; Weintraub has helped me see with a clearer vision, though.

At a time when marriages of royals were political matches, and not romantic ones, this is a story of an insignificant German prince who is married to the very young, Queen of England. Victoria and Albert actually fall in love with each other. Unfortunately, physicians at the time did not know when human females ovulated, which resulted in the many children of Victoria and Albert. However, her numerous pregnancies allowed Albert to become a more integral part in the monarchy. He became King in all but name as Victoria retired to the "sidelines." His diligent, untiring work set the stage for the great Victorian Era and the Pax Britannia.

For any lovers of American folklore, this is not the story of the soldier who makes a deal with the devil. It is, however, a fun and enlightening story with the slightly didactic approach of earlier "fairy tale" authors.

The main selling point is Hyman's vibrant illustrations. An experienced artist whose original forte was portaiture, Hyman makes every character in the storybook a real person, not an idealized view. Moreover, the cast is multi-racial. Overall, a great story book for kids or adults looing for somethign a little different.

This book is about a boy who gets betrayed by his father.The father place the baby in a basket and tossed it on the river .The basket gets picked up by a she-bear and adopted the little baby.When the baby was full grown he became the strongest man in town.

My favorite character in this book is the she-bear, because
she is caring and also helpful. I like this book because it reminds me of my life when I was a baby. My mom took care of me just like the she-bear taking care of the little boy.

this is a decent retelling of howard pyle's story. the story is standard stuff and the pictures may not be her best work, but any trina schart hyman fan would like to add this book to their collection.

It was a really good book for middle readers. I would recommend it to anyone who is having trouble reading harder books.

My daughter, a tough critic, enjoyed these books so much that she has asked for the entire Stardust Classics series. I was delighted! The books portray strong characters in fairytale settings. The books are wholesome, imaginative, and well-written. Highly recommended.

A children's book in English (bilingual, actually) on a the only Chinese female emperor in history. This book definitely breaks stereotypes of passive Asian females. Great book for young students, especially with the lavish pictures. But I would also love to see an adult version of this book.

This delightful book on the only woman who served as empress in her own right in China (the later, famous Empress Dowager ruled behind her son and nephews, only) is well written and nicely illustrated. It is, however, a children's book, which I was not expecting when I ordered it. I would say that it would make a delightful gift for a young person, but it is light on information for any interested scholar.

The Fairy's return is a mishmash of Romeo & Juliet (without the henchmen), The Golden Goose, and others set within the Princess Tales mythology. It's a fairly quick read with more depth than "The Princess Test," but not as much main character development as "Cinderellis and the Glass Hill."

Robin is considered an imbecile in his family because he likes to tell jokes instead of making up words (like his two elder brothers Nat and Matt) or create poems (like his father Jake). He wants to be accepted -- a common theme in these stories -- but his relatives won't.

Robin stumbles upon Lark, the also-bird-named princess to the kingdom of Biddle. They hit it off because they treat each other as normal people. Unfortunately, Robin's a commoner, and the two are discouraged from meeting again, though we know they're destined to.

Robin has more of a personality than some of the other princes-to-be of the other Gail Carson Levine stories, and it's interesting to glimpse into his struggle. He likes her, he's not sure she likes him, he gets discouraged, starts to have hope, etc.

The subplots are not as enchanting as the other stories. King Humphrey has a speech impediment that causes him to harrumph every word. There is one scene where this is pretty funny because he's describing what he wants done while his scribe is attempting to translate it to English (Biddlish?). It's a bit much to read aloud, however.

On the other hand, the quests Robin must fulfill are absurdly funny, and listening to him work out how to build a ship that works as well on land as it does the sea is amusing.

The Fairy's Return is a retelling of the golden goose story. Robin and Princess Lark love each other, but King Harrumphrey forbids their marriage. All seems lost until the fairy Ethelinda intervenes. This story is filled with subtle wit and plays on words. If you enjoy humor and fairy tales, read The Fairy's Return!

In 1962, John Barton wrote a stage play for the Royal Shakespeare Company. The play was composed of various readings, songs, speeches and poetry written by or about the Kings and Queens of England from William the Conqueror to Queen Victoria. Carried forward by a collection of some of the finest stage actors in British history, the play was a success. In 1971, John Barton organized and expanded the content of the play into a book, which included many black and white images, and a few color ones. This is that book.

While John Barton's play strikes the viewer as a playful romp through British history, the book fails to generate the same enthusiasm. While the play uses different voices when moving from part to part, the book simply has text that the reader needs to read to the end to see who it was that actually said it. Also, while the play seems colorful and irreverent, the book often struck me as boring and irrelevant. I found Queen Elizabeth I's poetry interesting, but I found Queen Victoria's journal entries quite boring.

Therefore, I would say that this book is a mixed bag, with the overall quality being below what I would have wanted. If you are interested in reading various bits by and about the Royals, then this book might be for you. But, if you want a book that has a theme or conveys a message, then you might want to give this one a skip.

You'd need to be a history buff to come to this book "cold" - but I searched for it after seeing a Royal Shakespeare Company production of the piece and regard it as a treasure. It evokes memories of truly flawless theatre which brought the writings to life, and it's in that context that this piece is written.

The glimpses of centuries of royal life in England are drawn from a range of contemporary sources. In the beautiful edition I have, these are illustrated with contemporary carvings, etchings, drawings and paintings, subtle and restrained. I'm anticipating with great pleasure many a fireside evening dipping into the book.

After reading and loving "A Great Good Thing," I was hoping for this sequel to be as well-written and charming. I was disappointed. It features the same wonderful characters, princess Sylvie and the "girl with the dark blue eyes," as well as the king and queen and all the other characters, but the plot doesn't hold together nearly as well. The author inserts a new character -- a yoga instructor named Rosetta-- into "the story" as an assistant shepherdess, and all the talk of energy projection lines and finding one's center is way above the heads of its 9-12 audience.

Instead of books and their readers, it tackles the problem of the Internet and its viewers -- that is, "the story" is published online. Instead of a little brother who is a pyromaniac and destroys the book in "A Great Good Thing," it seems to deal with a boy who spreads computer viruses -- but this part isn't very clear.

The story borders more on the zany type of puns and Alice-in Wonderland type plot, -- than than the clever, funny and fantastic but logical and believeable plot devices of the original. Characters from other stories wander into the text. Internet "cookies" look like lemon cookies, but are tasteless. Someone steals the "d's" in one paragraph. Entire lines of dialouge disappear, arrows become roses. Persumably all these thing happen due to a computer virus -- but there is no clear character behind or logical reason for the problems. The book suggests a little boy is to blame, but unlike the clear difficulties in the first book -- escaping a burning book and not being forgotten upon the death of the reader -- the villian is murky and there is not a logical direction to the problems. The mysterious villian is defeated eventually -- but you never do learn how or why the virus happened. And by the end of the book, you don't particulary care.

After reading the fabulous The Great Good Thing, I rushed to get this book. I found that Roderick Townley did it again with his second book, Into the Labyrinth. Although it was charming and hard to set down, this book should not be marketed to younger children. This novel would be more of a hit for 11 and up. My 13 year old daughter just started reading it and is already amazed at the creativity. This is a classic for children and adults alike.

Mine is a hardcover edition. The pictures are nice, but a bit small, you have to strain to see little birds in the nests
being fed their worms (in the Spring section). The book is basically a book about seasons, it features Babar and his family in all seasonal activities, but could as easily be Barney,Elmo, or any other character. It has no real story plot, and no drama, like the Story of Babar (my children's favorite). It's nice and educational for 2-3 year olds perhaps, but one shouldn't have to pay 10 bucks to teach about seasons.

Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. With better parent-child bonding from reading, your child will also be more emotionally secure and able to relate better to others. Intellectual performance will expand as well. Spending time together watching television fails as a substitute.

To help other parents apply this advice, as a parent of four I consulted an expert, our youngest child, and asked her to share with me her favorite books that were read to her as a young child. Meet Babar and His Family was one of her picks.

The Babar books belong in every home with children. If you already know the series, I'm certain that you agree. If you don't know Babar and his family, you should. They represent idealized "family values" as elephants together. Their relationships with others are ideal as well, including their elephant friends, other animal friends, and the Old Lady (a human) who teaches school in Celestville, where they all live. I also like introducing children to a world where animals may have more authority than people do. That can help establish all kinds of interesting new thoughts about our relationship to the natural world.

Meet Babar and His Family has a good balance of illustrations, actions, and story development to keep your youngster's mind occupied while you read to him or her during the preschool years. Later, your child will be reading this and other Babar stories to you. Memorizing what you have read aloud and learning to follow along with the words will be part of that process of learning to read.

As the title suggests, this story is built around introducing each of the characters, helping you understand their qualities and role in the series, and showing the kinds of activities they typically do. The only aspect of the stories that is not fully developed is that Babar and his wife, Celeste, are king and queen of the elephants and rule over Celesteville. But they are wearing their crowns and are identified as king and queen, so you can expand on this theme of the later stories easily enough.

Most of the other stories in the series do not include all of these characters, so finding them all here will make it easier for your child to understand the other stories when you move on to them.

The Babar family's children are Pom, Flora, and Alexander. As is usual, they get a little too active, and one of them gets hurt (Pom, in this case) and is treated by Doctor Capoulosse. Naturally, Babar's young cousin Arthur is in the story, playing with his friend Zephir, the monkey. Cornelius, the oldest of the elephants, has tea with the Old Lady.

The story takes you through four seasons' worth of activities, including ones that the family does together (like go skating, picnicing, and listening to a concert) as well as children's activities (like a snowball fight, going to school, and taking the school bus). The Babar family likes to be together with their friends, also.

After you have enjoyed this warm family story, I suggest that you get out your calendar for the year ahead and jot down the activities that you would like to do with your family and friends. Then speak, call, go on-line, or write to make the arrangements. Spending the time you want with those you love requires a little planning and putting a priority on this activity. After all, you probably were looking forward to having a nice family life when you got married and decided to have your first child, weren't you? Stalled thinking, lazy habits, and lack of focus can keep you from enjoying this opportunity. Be like Babar and Celeste and be the royalty of your family by leading on to worthwhile activities!

Live a full and happy family life together!

I got this book because the whole story line about two girls meeting and switching places couldn't be to bad. Not that the story was bad, it was actualy O.K. but i just couldn't get a feel for it because the writing seemed a little *off(?) So it's basically about a princess from Vineland who comes to America for a little sight seeing, but while she's there she wants to meet up with some rock singer guy who she meet online, but she can't just go out and meet him (besause she's a princess) so she switches places with a poor girl who looks like her. One thing leads to another and the wrong girl ends up going back to Vineland, where she meets a guy and *falls in love* (in one night, yah right)blah blah blah then the mothers find out and the two girls have to switch and everyone ends up happy.

I really loved this book. I give it two thumbs up. When I was halfway through this, I was hoping it would end up being a romance of sorts. Don't ask me why. I don't know. Anyway, everyome ended up happy in the end. If you want to know what happens, you'll just have to read it for yourself.

PLEASE NOTE! This review is for the version that is illustrated by Dorothee Duntze. Everyone knows this Hans Christian Andersen story about the bedraggled princess who shows up looking for shelter on a stormy night. She might be a good match for the prince who's been searching for a "real" princess so the queen mother runs a little test...the rest is the subject of fairy tales! This version is simply told and beautifully illustrated. The pictures, executed in soft pastel colors, have a quirky Art Deco feel to them that I thoroughly enjoyed. The gowns of all the ladies in the book are done in a collage style and are covered in intricate patterns and designs. Lovely...the real thing!

In the beautiful land of Upper-Crestalia King Adolph, Queen Frieda, & their dear son Prince Ralph live & the queen is quite content until her son one day bursts into her chamber & declares that he wishes to marry.

The queen does not like this idea at all so she hatches a plan to prevent her son marrying & she makes sure that the few princesses who do audition for Prince Ralph's wife all fail.

Mad with grief, Prince Ralph tears off in his expensive car down to Lower-Crestalia & when smoke starts billowing out of his hood, poor Ralph is stranded.

To his great surprise & relief, an auto-mechanic pulls up next to him & a dirty young woman in overalls carrying a tool box, jumps out. They get to talking, & the Prince is smitten! Her name is Opal, & she is the princess of Lower-Crestalia.

On the spot Prince Ralph proposes & when her prince charming confesses that his mother has idiotic tasks in store for her, Opal only becomes more determined.

Opal passes the tests with flying colors & that's when the queen insists there be a third test which is the one from which the title of this hilarious book is taken.

Will Princess Opal pass the final test? Will the queen's crafty plan succeed? Read this enchanting book & find out!