Though the text is a bit long, the artful language and clever asides make it fun to read, especially with an exaggerated articulation, and the strategically repeated phrases preserve narrative memory for less experienced readers. Using multiple font sizes and types to encourage inflected reading, Child displays a playful, winking storytelling style that highlights children's familiarity with such things as pushy parents, drama princes, and heedless but excruciatingly well-mannered princesses. The result is a visual feast that is masterfully complemented by the exuberant text. The sets are relatively uncluttered, allowing each piece to receive due attention, and they are expertly photographed with assiduous care given to well-placed shadows and lighting effects. Here, though, the faces and bodies are narrowed into adult forms, and the settings are miniatures with exquisite details that will enchant those fascinated with dollhouse real estate. Child has taken her signature technique, made familiar in her Charlie and Lola stories, of inserting flat colored-ink drawings of characters with paper-collage clothes into three-dimensional settings. This stylish retelling of the classic tale of a sensitive princess delights on multiple levels.
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