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Princess and the White Bear King

Hardcover

$17.99

$16.73

5 - 8

Reading age

Page count

Oct 1, 2008

Publication date

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What's This Book About

Publisher Summary

Written by professional storyteller Tanya Batt and illustrated by Nicoletta Ceccoli, this book will send a tingle of excitement down your spine as you journey on a breathtaking adventure to the magical land that lies east of the sun and west of the moon. Combining the themes of three classic wonder tales - “East of the Sun, West of the Moon,” “The Black Bull of Norroway” and “The White Bear King” - this exquisite fairy tale takes its roots from the Scandinavian tradition, but its story and its message (“where there is no trust, there can be no love”) are universal.

What Kind of Book is Princess and the White Bear King

Gallery

One day, as she was walking in the forest, the Princess came across a great bear, with a shaggy, snow-white pelt and huge paddle paws. He tossed into the air a crown of gold, the crown of the Princess’s dream. “Bear, give me that crown,” the Princess cried. “The crown is not for sale, not for gold or money,” he growled, “but I will give it to you in exchange for yourself.” The Princess agreed at once and the bear promised to fetch her in one week’s time. But when the bear came, the King barred the castle gate and set soldiers to guard it. The bear splintered the gate and knocked all the soldiers to the ground. And so the King sent out his eldest daughter. The Princess climbed upon the bear’s great shaggy back. They rode over the bride-white snow and through the thickly-needled forest. Then the bear called, “Are you afraid?” “Yes!” cried the girl, and the bear shook her from his back. “Then you are not the one,” he muttered. And he returned to the King’s castle.

The Queen’s words lay heavy with Princess, for she had trusted the bear, but now doubt poisoned her mind. So when the bear came to fetch her and carry her back to his castle, she carried hidden the candle and the knife. And when the bear asked her if she had listened to her mother’s advice, she lied and said, “No.” That night, when the Princess heard the tread of the soft paddle paws and the sound of something soft and heavy falling to the ground, she lit a candle to see who was there. To her astonishment, it was no troll that she saw, but a young man so beautiful that she trembled with shame, and as she did so, she spilled hot wax from the candle on his shirt. The beautiful young man stared at the Princess with such sadness in his eyes that she could not return his gaze. “What have you done?” he cried. “Know now the ill luck you have brought upon us both, had you but waited until a year had passed, the enchantment put upon me by the Troll Queen would have been broken, and I would have become the Prince that I was born to be, and your own true love. But now I must leave you and travel to a land east of the sun and west of the moon and marry the Troll Queen. And you and I shall never again be together, for there is nothing I can do now to break the enchantment.” And with that he wrapped his great white pelt about him and fell to all fours, a bear.

The next morning the wedding party assembled by the river, and the Princess stood quietly among them. The Prince held his stained shirt out to the Troll Queen, calling that only his true bride would be able to wash the shirt clean. Snorting with impatience, the Troll Queen stepped forwards and snatched the stained shirt, plunging it into the water. But the more she rubbed, the larger and darker the stains grew. And she scowled and spat with anger and threw the shirt on the ground. Then the Princess stepped from the crowd and dipped the shirt in the river and instantly it was clean and bride-white. And as the Princess held the shirt high for all to see, the sun burst through the dark clouds, turning the Troll Queen and all her followers into cold, gray stone.

The Prince and the Princess flew from the land that lay east of the sun and west of the moon, taking with them many treasures. And when they returned to the Prince’s castle, they called for the Princess’s family. And a wedding feast was held that lasted for seven days and seven nights, the likes of which had never been seen before. With food enough for gods and paupers, music that called trees to dance, wine enough to fill an ocean and luck enough for all to chance. The Prince and Princess lived happily ever after. And so may we.

Reviews

Book Lists That Include This Book

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Book Details

ISBN: 9781846862281
Publication Date: October 1, 2008
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Text Details: This book was typeset in Bembo 14pt.
Illustration Details: The illustrations were prepared in acrylics, pencils and oil pastels on canvas.
Page Count: 40
Audience: Picture
Reading Age: 5 - 8 years
Lib. of Congress (LCCN): 2004004657
WorldCat Number (OCLC): 225875885

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Core Score - 85%

So, SO close to perfection!

Depth Score - 34%

Just the barebones.

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