BOOK REVIEW: A Little Princess by Frances

Hodgson Burnett

This book has 41 pages and published by Oxford University Press. This book tells about a little girl
named Sara Crewe. She is a very rich girl. She first comes to England when she is seven. Alone in a
new country, wealthy Sara Crewe tries to settle in and make friends at boarding school. She is kind,
friendly girl. Everyone likes her and soon she makes friends. But when she learns that she’ll never see
her beloved father again, her life is turned upside down. Transformed from princess to pauper, she
must swap dancing lessons and luxury for hard work and a room in the attic. Poor Sara is very
unhappy and quickly she learns who her true friends are.

The only way I can describe this book is heart-warming. It was a truly precious read from
start to finish and when I closed the book for the last time I actually hugged it to my chest and
wished I could discover it again for the first time.

I feel like there is something in this book for everyone and every situation. Maybe we can’t
all be saved by fortunate coincidences and great wealth in the end, but Sara’s attitude
throughout her trials is definitely something to admire and aspire to.

What I enjoy most about this book is that Sara isn’t perfect; nor is she a saint. She struggles
constantly with her temper and frequently has to remind herself to be kind and think of others
above herself. Her own hunger and despair is always put after someone else’s, no matter how
hard it makes things for her. Sara’s imagination and generosity is so endearing I wasn’t even
surprised when most of the characters fell in love with her and proclaimed themselves ready
to do anything for her. If I met a child in her circumstances with that attitude, I probably
would behave exactly the same way; she’s utterly enchanting in every aspect.

The plot is a basic one and the book sails through almost solely on the strength of Sara’s
character. Frances Hodgson Burnett’s narrative voice is another impressive feature, managing
to inject wry humour into the most terrible of situations with poignant reflections on society.
And she manages to do this in a way that doesn’t condescend to young readers by making a
character inherently good or evil; rather, she encourages them to see that adults can possess
the flaws of envy and pettiness just as easily as children.

I adore this book Not only does this story show that those who do good to others will
gain favor in return, but it also questions what makes someone a princess. Being a princess is
not a status of wealth and power, but a mentality of humility, restraint, and kindness to all.
Sara was a princess with and without money, using her imagination and strength of will to
power through the good and bad times. This story will forever be a classic and a must read.

Thank you.
BOOK REVIEW: The Lion King by Gina Ingoglia
The Lion King is a 1994 board book adaptation of the movie of the same name produced by
Disney Animation. Written by Don Ferguson, it is a narrated and illustrated retelling of
Simba, a young lion, as he overcomes the death of his father and ousting from his pride
which rules the Pride Land, a kingdom of animals in Africa. This book has _______ pages.

The story begins in the Pride Lands, an area in Kenya, Africa ruled by a pride of lions. Its leader, King
Mufasa, who rules kindly from his home, Pride Rock, attends the presentation of his newborn son,
Simba, to the assembly of animals that make up the kingdom. His advisor and shaman, a baboon
named Rafiki, lifts young Simba into the air atop a rocky pinnacle, and the animals cheer. Mufasa
waves his hand across the land, explaining that Simba will be responsible for it once he becomes
king. He also explains the “circle of life,” the sacred relationship between birth and death that
connects all living creatures.

As Simba comes of age, Mufasa’s younger brother, Scar, seeks to take the throne. Scar plans to kill
Mufasa and Simba. He lures Simba and his best friend and future wife and queen of the pride, the
young lioness Nala, to explore a dangerous elephant graveyard. There, a trio of spotted hyenas loyal
to Scar ambushes them. Mufasa, learning about the ambush from his messenger hornbill Zazu,
rushes to rescue the cubs. Though Mufasa is angry with Simba, he forgives him, taking him to a field
and explaining that the kings of the past watch from the stars, just as he will one day watch over the
prides of Africa.

After his failed attempt to kill Simba, Scar lures him and Mufasa into a ravine where his hyenas cause
a stampede of wildebeest, hoping to have them trampled. Scar lures Simba first and then, notifies
Mufasa of Simba’s danger. Mufasa rushes to save Simba again but is left hanging on the edge of the
ravine. Scar approaches and, instead of saving him, throws him into the ravine, where he dies. Scar
convinces Simba that Mufasa’s death was his own fault, telling him to leave the kingdom. After
Simba flees with the hyenas in pursuit, Scar tells the rest of the pride that the wildebeest killed both
Mufasa and his son, Simba. He becomes the new king, allowing his previously excommunicated
hyenas and their pack to come live in the Pride Lands.

Simba, exhausted in the desert, is rescued by a meerkat and a warthog, Timon and Pumbaa. He
grows up with them in the jungle, learning to create a carefree life and adopting a new motto,
“Hakuna Matata,” meaning “no worries.” One day, a hungry lioness comes to hunt Timon and
Pumbaa. Simba intercepts her, discovering that she is Nala. They fall back in love and Nala tells him
to come home, conveying that the Pride Lands have fallen into drought and despair. Simba refuses
and runs away, unwilling to cope with returning to the site of his father’s death. He finds Rafiki, who
says that Mufasa is still alive in Simba. Mufasa’s spirit appears in the stars, telling Simba that he must
live on as king. Simba is convinced to return home.

Simba returns to Pride Rock, confronting Scar. He forces Scar to announce the truth to the pride. His
friends Timon and Pumbaa, along with Rafiki, Zazu, and the lionesses, fight off the hyenas while Scar
tries to escape. Simba corners him, and Scar begs for mercy, offering to betray his hyenas. Simba
agrees on the condition that Scar is banished from the Pride Lands. Scar tries to attack again, and
Simba throws him from the rock. He survives the fall but is killed by the hyenas who overheard his
betrayal. Rain begins to fall as Simba regains the kingship, and life comes back to the Pride Lands.
The book concludes as Rafiki holds up Simba and Nala’s new cub to the assembly of animals,
repeating the circle of life. The story has been perfected in every way. Fantastic and colourful
pictures leap out in front of the reader, the well-structured layout of the pictures and text and the
inclusion of many morals about life that leaves you nodding with agreement.

Thank you.

BOOK REVIEW: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK

The classic English fairytale, Jack and The Beanstalk is written by Anna Milbourne. This
book has ____ pages. Jack is a young and rather reckless boy who lives with his widowed
mother. They become increasingly poor – thanks partly to Jack’s own carelessness – until the
day comes when all they have left is a cow, which Jack’s mother tells him to take to the
market to sell for money. Unfortunately, while on his way into town, Jack meets a bean
dealer who says he will pay Jack a hat full of magic beans for the cow.
Jack, delighted to have been made an offer on the cow before he’s even reached the market,
lives up to his reckless reputation once again and agrees to the deal. He returns home with no
cow and no money and only a hat full of beans to show for the journey; his mother, needless
to say, is less than happy with this outcome, and hurls the beans out into the garden in her
anger. They both retire to bed without having eaten, as they have no food left.

However, when Jack wakes the next morning, he finds that the magic beans scattered across
the garden have grown into a giant beanstalk outside his window. He promptly climbs it – as
you do – and finds a whole new land at the top. Wandering among this land, Jack comes upon
a huge castle and sneaks his way inside.

The giant, who owns the castle, returns home and smells Jack, proclaiming: ‘Fee-fi-fo-fum! I
smell the blood of an English man: Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make
my bread.’ Jack steals a sack of gold from the giant’s castle before swiftly making his escape
back down the beanstalk.

However, this is a fairy tale, which wouldn’t be complete without obeying the ‘rule of three’.
So, Jack duly climbs the beanstalk twice more and steals from the giant twice more. The giant
wakes when Jack is leaving the castle the third time, and chases Jack back down the
beanstalk.

The quick-thinking Jack calls for his mother to throw down an axe for him; before the giant
reaches the ground, Jack chops down the beanstalk, causing the giant to fall to his death. Jack
and his mother live happily ever after, and are never poor or hungry again, thanks to Jack’s
burgling skills.

Thank you