The Princess Who Had No Kingdom

July 14, 2014
In a fairy-tale collaboration first published in 2009 in the U.K., Jones and Gibb introduce a princess in search of her kingdom. “It must be somewhere,” she muses to her horse. Shabby but still soignée (her loveliness and balletic bearing bring to mind Audrey Hepburn) and self-reliant, the princess earns money by using her pony cart to deliver “ostrich eggs that were about to hatch or troublesome things like lame dogs or unruly grannies.” The female half of high society snubs her, and the male half is utterly infatuated, but the princess gives her heart to a penniless, clever jester who understands that, together, they can be the “Queen and King of Here, There, and Everywhere.” Gibb’s impressively elaborate silhouette scenes and full-color drawings have the cool, composed élan of 1920s fashion illustration. Though the images of the poised princess doesn’t always evince the spunk in Jones’s text—this is a girl, after all, who asks, “Do I have to do everything around here?” having all but proposed to the jester—that won’t stop readers from finding her story enchanting. Ages 4–7.

Starred review from November 1, 2014
Preschool-G *Starred Review* A bedraggled girl named Princess travels with her pony called Pretty, searching for her kingdom. She visits every town's royal home, delivering parcels from her precariously packed cart and carrying her bright-red umbrella. At one residence, the Dowager Duchess Wilhemina sneers haughtily, but the court jester is smitten with Princess, and he gives her a pair of red tights because he thought her feet looked cold. When the prince of the land is to be crowned king, the royals arrive in a parade of elaborate carriages. At the ball, all the princes are charmed by Princess, and a food fight ensues! Disgruntled, she slips away into a purple-and-black night, glowing with white stars, her red tights peeking below her silhouetted form. Next day, she bumps into her true prince, the jester, and together they make plans for a future kingdom that mostly involves them being together. Large double-spread pages glow with colorful foliage, glorious fashions, imaginative architecture, and humor. Gibb's illustrations recall the gorgeous and distinctive artwork of Jan Pienkoiwski. Her dramatic silhouettes, done in pen and ink and color, are breathtaking in their detail, delightfully complementing this bright, stylish, and original fairy tale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)