A Hidden Magic

by Vivian Vande Velde, Trina Schart Hyman (Illustrator)

Overview

A young princess is tasked with rescuing a spoiled prince—if she really wants to—in this fantasy adventure by the author of Dragon Bait.

Once upon a time there lived a very nice but very plain young princess named Jennifer. And she had the bad luck to fall in love with the very handsome but very conceited prince Alexander. The prince had a gift for offending everyone he met, including one day an evil witch, who cast a deep spell over him. It falls to Jennifer to save him.

Yet how can a nice (but average) princess hope to defeat a powerful witch? And why save Alexander? Because she loves him? But does she really?

“Happily ever after” happens only in fairy tales . . .

“An original and delightful parody of the classic fairy-tale genre.” —School Library Journal

“Vivian Vande Velde is a master of the unexpected.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547416823
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	05/12/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	191
Sales rank:	886,218
Lexile:	850L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Vivian Vande Velde has written many books for teen and middle grade readers, including Heir Apparent, User Unfriendly, All Hallow's Eve: 13 Stories, Three Good Deeds, Now You See It ..., and the Edgar Award–winning Never Trust a Dead Man. She lives in Rochester, New York. Visit her website at www.vivianvandevelde.com.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 4-6 An original and delightful parody of the classic fairy tale genre. Velde uses humorous contemporary dialogue to tell the story of the quite ordinary but spirited princess-heroine Jennifer, who finds herself in the position of saving the life of a spoiled prince and dealing with a most unconventional young sorcerer. Velde has tackled a difficult idea. The fairy tale genre has been parodied on many occasions, and parodies have the potential of becoming wearisome in their inevitable use of cliches. However, despite a wicked witch, a magic mirror, a dark forest and a handsome prince, Velde's approach remains fresh and definitely amusing. Characters have unusual twists to their personalities and become individuals rather than stereotypes. Children will secretly cheer when, at the end of the story, Jennifer turns down the marriage offer of the vain Prince Alexander and finds herself drawn to the sorcerer instead. Hyman has chosen a lush, semi-Romantic style for her ten black-and-white illustrations, done with her usual flair for detail. Readers may decide that these lovely drawings are a bit too serious for the subject matter, but nonetheless, they are a definite visual asset. Karen P. Smith, Yonkers Board of Education, N.Y.

School Library Journal