Fantastic People, Places, and Things

MODULE 8: FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION

October 19-25

Princess Academy

By: Shannon Hale

Ages 9-15

Summary:

This is a timeless David and Goliath story, and reminds us that even the smallest among us can do great things. Miri is an unstoppable young girl who loves and cherishes her family and home on Mount Eskel. When prophecy declares that the next princess will be from her home, an academy is built to help prepare the mountain girls for life as royalty. All young girls must leave behind their parents and attend the academy where after a year's time the prince will visit and select his bride. Although the tutor chosen to run the academy, Olana, makes life extremely difficult for the girls, the girls recognize how significant the opportunity to become a princess is. They also appreciate the opportunity to learn. Miri, in particular, excels in her studies, and earns the honor of Academy Princess. She takes her newly learned knowledge and finds ways to make life better for her village, finds her true love, solves the mysteries in her father's heart, and discovers her purpose in life.

My Impressions:

This is a wonderful book that had me laughing at times and crying at others. I absolutely adore a good underdog story, and this is one of the best ones that I have read. I loved the way Miri is so small, and feels that she is a burden to her family and village. Yet she is the one who is able to bring more prosperity to her village because she is such an excellent student while at the academy. I love how the author reminds us that unless one makes the effort to know someone, we can never really understand their behaviors or intentions. At first Miri assumes that Britta thinks she is better than everyone else because she is a lowlander. However her opinion changes as she gets to know Britta better, and they quickly become great friends. The budding romance between Peder and Miri is a lovely part of the story as well. It is pretty clear to the reader that they both care deeply for each other at some point or another, but they seem to be clueless to how the other is feeling. This creates a sense of reader interaction because one just can't help yelling at the book, telling them to stop being so blind! This is an emotionally charged book full of great life lessons, positive messages, and universal truths.

Reviews:

"As usual, Hale ties her characters to the land in which they have been born and to Nature itself. This is an engaging, plain “good read” that just happens to be filled with life lessons about friendship, acceptance, courage, endurance, and finding the right path. Guard against dismissing this fantasy as more of the same old genre; there are a lot of fresh ideas and solid truths to be had in this finely-crafted novel." -Sheilah Egan (Children's Literature)

Lesson Plans:

This would be an excellent read aloud book for the library and the classroom. In addition, before each chapter there is a brief poem or poetic phrase that ties into the following chapter. The idea of quarry speech is a poetic form of communication, linking memories to convey messages. Students could use this book to create poetry to fit and describe each chapter or major scene or event in the book. Students could then present their poems to the class. Similarly students could create poetic memories to convey a message, students could spend a portion of class time sharing these poetic messages and seeing if anyone else is able to decipher them.



Egan, Sheilah. "Children's Literature Reviews: Princess Academy." Children's Literature Comprehensive Database. November 24, 2009.


Hale, Shannon. Princess Academy. New York: Bloomsbury, 2005.