The Light Princess

 My favorite fairytale picture book in our house is an adaptation of The Light Princess by George MacDonald. I am always looking to collect good fairytale picture books, especially from the Brothers Grimm collection (if the adaptation is bad, I am happy to have the boys hold the picture book while I read from the original), so to have a favorite is saying something - I am typically not one to commit to favorites, but this story is simply too good not to fall for (and not to share with you!). The Light Princess is a spin off of the well known "Sleeping Beauty" story; taking a drastic turn at the beginning of the tale when instead of the princess being cursed with death, she is cursed with losing her gravity. The light princess grows up untethered from the earth and with no sense of gravity about the situation she is in; always laughing and making light of life, the King and Queen try everything to make her see the serious side of things: to no avail. Can anything transport this light princess from frivolity to gravity? The King asks a poor beggar to appeal to her with his most touching story of poverty and affliction whereupon the princess is unable to control her fits of laughter. In fact, the only thing that seems to have any kind of balancing effect on the young royal is to submerge her in the lake outside of the palace where her gravity is apparently restored and where she spends hours upon hours frolicking among the waves. I encourage you to find a version of this lovely story and read how the curse is reversed and the Princess regains her gravity. It is truly a brilliant story full of imagination and timeless truths. If you cannot find the picturebook, the original story is easy to come by and just as enjoyable for adults as for children. I do recommend the picture book for young children,  however. Happy reading, 

SP


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