Product Description

All you need to know to be a princess—

Or

Just live like one

Compiled by
Mia Thermopolis
aka
Princess
Amelia
Mignonette
Grimaldi
Thermopolis
Renaldo
of Genovia

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #316356 in Books
• Published on: 2003-03-13
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .63" h x 5.33" w x 7.43" l, .51 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 144 pages

From Amazon.com
Meg Cabot entertained thousands of readers with her Princess Diaries series about a somewhat awkward teenage girl from Manhattan who discovers that she's actually heir to the throne of a small European principality. In this princess-pink guidebook, the unlikely royal Mia Thermopolis informs her fans that if she can be a princess, anyone can--with the help of a few princess lessons, that is. (Of course, she honestly doesn't know why anyone would want to when they could lead a perfectly normal life.) This how-to guide for princesses-in-training--written in the voices of Tina, Grandmère, and other characters from the series--is surprisingly applicable to daily, non-royal life. While it is peppered with princess-specific advice (such as how to perfect a curtsy), it is not quite the spoof one might expect. In the Beauty section, for example, the manual emphasizes confidence, minimal makeup, and hygiene. In the Etiquette section, we learn not to slouch, shuffle, skip, or saunter. Readers will find polite e-mail protocol, musings on popularity, five easy ways to save the planet, and even Lily and Mia's list of movies in which characters achieve self-actualization. Chesley McLaren's comical, artful illustrations reflect the tongue-in-cheek tone of this fairly common-sense manual for surviving Polite Society. And remember: "Throughout history, princesses have been remembered not for the waist size of their 501s, but for the good deeds they performed when they were on the throne." (Ages 10 and older) --Karin Snelson

From Booklist
Gr. 5-7. So you, too, want to be a princess? Fans of Princess Mia's adventures in the small principality of Genovia may wonder how they, too, can have the accoutrements of princessdom. It's all here between pretty pink covers. Ostensibly written by Mia, this offers the secrets of her princess lessons with Grandmother: the etiquette, table manners, even thoughts about good citizenship. Mia also passes on help from Paola, her makeup artist; Sebastian, her fashion designer; and her best friend Tina, ostensibly a relationship expert. To say the advice here runs the gamut doesn't even begin to describe this book. Some is tongue-in-cheek (tiara maintenance); other bits are useful--how to write a sympathy note (although the example is to someone who has lost a pet cat). Even fans of the Diaries who start out reading this just for Mia's amusing ramblings may glean a few nuggets of decorum along the way. See p.1660 for the latest addition to the Diaries series. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Meg Cabot was born in Bloomington, Indiana. In addition to her adult contemporary fiction, she is the author of the bestselling young adult fiction series The Princess Diaries. She lives in Key West, Florida, with her husband.