Dean HaleCritiques

This book follows Jack, from Jack in the beanstalk, through a different story of the bean stalk and giant. This book is full of adventure, but also teaches the lesson of love, through Jack's mother loving him no matter how many times he messed up. I think this would be a good book for younger grade school kids as it is easy to read and exciting to keep their attention.

One of my family's favorite read alouds.

Cute! A little surface-level, I feel like the themes could've been pushed more without making it inappropiate

So much fun & goofiness to read that I'll have to grab extra copies for the girls in my life. Very affirmative for them re self-esteem, body image, & what it means to be a friend--to humans and squirrels and dogs etc.

The second book by the Hales starring Rapunzel and titular Calamity Jack.

Intriguing steampunk mashup of Jack the Giant Killer and various and sundry other faerie tale figures. Loads of fun for anyone eight or older.

Very funny. The kids loved it as a read-aloud.

:) We are big fans of books where girls can be princesses that wear frilly dresses and also stop monster invasions. Who said you had to pick between the two anyways?

This is a charmer. Very much along the lines of [b:The Paper Bag Princess|240130|The Paper Bag Princess|Robert Munsch|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1386912856s/240130.jpg|844184] and [b:Not All Princesses Dress in Pink|6984768|Not All Princesses Dress in Pink|Jane Yolen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347262730s/6984768.jpg|7226760], but in an early chapter book format that is more appealing to the target age (I'd say ages 7-9).

The text is just about perfect, but much credit goes to illustrator LeUyen Pham, whose style here is full of energy and cute to boot. The illustrations play such a key role (belying the text, providing clues for young readers, explaining concepts visually), that I'm tempted to put this on my "graphic" shelf, even though this would rightly be called "heavily illustrated" and not a "graphic novel." But who cares about labels? Certainly not The Princess in Black!

If you've read Hale(s) before, you know this will have humor, warmth and a dose of hard love thrown in. This Diana isn't Wonder Woman yet, she's a young girl on an island of adults who wants to sometimes not be an adult. She wants to goof off and skip school and play tricks.

She wants to be a kid.

A fun, light romp wherein our one day Warrior learns a few things about letting others influence your actions as well as taking responsibility when those actions bring chaos.

AR: 3.2

I love squirrel! She has such a positive can-do attitude. I love all the creative names of all the squirrels!

An inventive twist on the classic Rapunzel (and Jack the Beanstalk) tale. Rapunzel lives in Mother Gothel's villa, but once she sees the misery outside the walls, and learns that her real mother labors in the mines, she tries to escape - but Mother Gothel brings her to a forest and places her in the top of a tree. Four years later, Rapunzel escapes and plans a rescue mission. Along the way, she meets Jack, and the two team up, facing various dangers (including Mother Gothel's Brute, a pack of wolves, outlaws with guns, a sea serpent, and rough terrain). They arrive at Mother Gothel's together the night of her annual shindig and bring her tumbling down; fittingly, she's enveloped in a giant tree. Jack kisses Rapunzel, and Goldy the goose finally lays a golden egg.

This is the first book in a series for young readers that not only challenges what princesses can do, but keeps you laughing. Determined to defeat monsters before the duchess finds our about her alter ego powers, this princess in black takes toung readers through all kinds of adventures, including with goats. We need more younger reader series' like this!

This was another book I picked up for my graduate school class. I did have more hopes for it as I LOVE Wonder Woman (though not as much as my brother who named his dog Gal Gadot). And it is intriguing to learn more origin stories.

For younger readers, this is the perfect book. It tackles listening to your conscience. It is short and sweet and the pictures are my favorite part. But I felt like it had some plot holes--or writing that was less than stellar (which I have a hard time saying since Shannon Hale is great!)

Independent Reading Level: Grades K-3
Awards: None

Intermediate
An Old West take on the Rapunzel story in graphic novel form
I really enjoyed this book. I'd like to have this book in my classroom because it subverts the fairy tale tropes and is a fun adventure romp. Rapunzel is a tough girl who can hold her own but eventually forms an unlikely romance with Jack.

Rapunzel set in the wild west might not sound like a winner, but Shannon Hale's strong female lead and her lovely friend Jack are the perfect fit for this fairy tale retelling.

I like the idea of this story, but found the language too limited and repetitive. I assume this is because it’s meant for young (or struggling) readers to be able to read by themselves -- a concept I fully support. Obviously this is a thing that needs to exist. I’m just accustomed to stories for children that have more layers, to endeavour to expand a child’s knowledge or slip in jokes for grown-ups.

I won’t be reading the sequels for my own entertainment but, actually, I’ll consider buying them for my classroom.

This was super fun. I honestly didn't realize it was the second one in a series until after I was done. So it's virtually stand-alone. The Hales reimagined traditional fairy tale characters and creatures into this cool steampunk world.

And Rapunzel does very much kick ass, so Janet should be happy.

I'll definitely be picking up the first one, and any others the Hales decide to write.½

This rocked. The Hales (and Hale) have taken traditional fairy tales and set them into a gritty historical world that resembles the United States 1800s, you know if there were monsters and giants and magic.

This is the first book in the series, and while I read the 2nd first, I was fine reading them out of order. This one takes place in the Old West, one run by Mother Gothel who has a mafia-like hold on the land because of her ability to make things grow... or not. Rapunzel is her daughter, only she discovers she was kidnapped from her real parents, and she decides to rescue her mother from Gothel's slave mines and free the land from Gothel's rule. Enter Jack, of the beanstalk, and his goose Goldy. The two join Rapunzel on her quest.

Hale's version of Rapunzel is fantastic. She's smart, independent, loyal, has a strong moral streak, and uses her long hair like lassos. I think I liked this story better than Calamity Jack. I liked the setting better, and Rapunzel better than Jack.

I hope the Hales write more in this series soon. I want more!½

I think my issue with this graphic novel is that it was too long. I get what the author was doing--it's a journey where she and her new friend meet people who end up helping in the end. You have to see everything that's going on that is bad because of her adoptive, evil mother.

It's cute--I love the hair! I didn't know about the lettuce! Apparently, the lettuce was named after the Grimm's Fairy Tale and not the other way around.

It's not bad; it's cute. If you want something brainless with good art for a rainy day, this is a perfect match.½

10/20/2015
I love the Princess in Black. She's girly and super powerful, she's scary (to monsters) and she's sweet (to friends), she's clever and polite and relatable. These books are fantastic for both girls AND boys (if we can get over our obsession with the idea that pink/girls are off-limits to boys).

Note: I received a digital ARC through NetGalley.

3/13/2018
Note: I received a finished paperback of this book from the publisher at ALA Midwinter 2018 (long after I had first read and reviewed it).

Mentioned in a blog post at https://booksbeyondbinaries.blog/2020/07/20/chapter-books-whats-good/ (July 20th release)

I loved this 2nd book even more than the first book! The Perfect Princess Party is a perfectly creative story. My granddaughter and I loved every minute of it!