The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool by Margaret Gray

Gray, Margaret. (2002). The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

Plot Summary: Once upon a time a princess was born who was not pretty. In fact, she was the 3rd daughter and everyone knows 3rd daughters are supposed to be the most beautiful of all. However, this daughter was not. Rose was skinny, freckled, bucktoothed and had unmanageable hair. She lived in the kingdom of Couscous, where her father, King Irwin, had banished all wise men. Jasper, a disguised wise man, becomes a fool at King Irwin’s court in the hopes that he can eventually bring the kingdom back to appreciating all things wise. While there, Jasper befriends Rose and he shares his “chest protectors” (books) with her. Over the years they become good friends. One day Rose sees Prince Parsnip riding by and his horse and she is awestruck by his tremendous good looks. When she waves to the Prince he snubs her and refuses to acknowledge her. A card is brought to the castle inviting only pretty princesses to his party where he is looking for a bride. Rose is so upset she wishes for all the beauty her fairy godmother Eleanor can give her, despite her Eleanor’s warnings.

At the ball Rose is literally swept up by Prince Parsnip and he spends the entire night dancing with her. However, Rose is unhappy when she realizes how awful he really is. She must find a way out of becoming his bride. With Jasper and Eleanor’s help, Rose is able to reverse the beauty spell and release Prince Parsnip from the engagement. In addition, King Irwin is shown the error of his ways in getting rid of all wise men. Rose and Jasper create a school for wise men and women in the kingdom of Couscous.

Genre: Humorous-fiction

Suggested Age Range: 8-13 years

Subjects/themes: Adventure, Beauty, Knowledge, Humor

Awards:
• Christopher Award Winner, 2003
• A Sonderbooks’ Stand-out of 2003

Reviews:
• Sonderbooks, 2003
• School Library Journal, 2002
• Publishers Weekly, 2002

Character List:.
• Rose: Main Character, 3rd daughter and surprisingly not pretty at all
• Jasper: Court Fool, cover up wise man
• Eleanor: Rose’s sea-faring Fairy Godmother
• King Irwin: Rose’s Father
• Prince Parsley: Prince who wants to marry the most beautiful princess
• Queen Julia: Rose’s Mother
• Asphalt: Rose’s sister, 1st daughter
• Concrete: Rose’s sister, 2nd daughter

High-interest Annotation: This book is a lighthearted, fun and entertaining read for girls and boys. There is adventure, romance and nonsense. One can tell the book will be good when the opening page states ““A very long time ago, a princess was born who was not beautiful. She wasn’t even remotely pretty, and the whole kingdom was in deep shock about it, because in those days just about everybody was beautiful. All the written records from the era (they’re easy to pick out, because they begin “once upon a time”) are filled with accounts of beautiful people. Snow White, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella…the list goes on and on.”