P Is for Princess: A Royal Alphabet

Sleeping Bear Alphabets

by Steven L. Layne, Robert Papp

Snow White had her Prince Charming and Victoria had her Albert. Who really knows how "grand" the Duke of York was? P is for A Royal Alphabet gives an enchanting A to Z tour of the world of kings, queens, and the stories behind the thrones. Monarchs real (Princesses Diana and Grace) and make-believe (Aurora and Cinderella) are examined, along with their accompanying legends and histories. Topics include castles, crown jewels, ladies-in-waiting, and that most anticipated of all royal occasions - the grand ball! Sumptuous artwork perfectly complements the majestic subject matter, making P is for Princess a visual treat for royal watchers of all ages.Steven and Deborah Layne also wrote the popular T is for A School Alphabet, which received a Learning magazine Teachers' Choice Award for Children's Books. Well-regarded educators and literacy consultants, the Laynes live with their young children in St. Charles, Illinois. Husband and wife Robert and Lisa Papp are each established artists in their own right. Rob's previous work for Sleeping Bear Press includes The Last Brother and The Scarlet Stockings Spy. Lisa illustrated the Pennsylvania number book, One for All, and Eve Bunting's My Mom's Wedding. Rob and Lisa live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, History, Childrens

40 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Award-winning author and educator Steven L. Layne is the director of the Master of Education in Literacy program at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, where he is also a professor of literacy education. He is a respected literacy consultant, motivational keynote speaker, and featured author at conferences and literary events worldwide. He lives with his wife and children in Saint Charles, Illinois.

Reviews

[Miss Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

With illustrations that range from portrait-like realistic to classic and whimsical, this alphabet focuses on royalty, fairytales and rulers from story and history alike.

I liked that apart from the short rhyme containing the letter, there is a sidebar with more in-depth information about the subject, whether that be Princess Di, the first emperor of China or the five ranks of the peerage.

My one qualm was their choice for "Z" - Czar. Yes, it does make the "z" sound with the silent c/t (depending on your spelling), but I think they should have found a word actually starting with "z".

Looking forward to picking up some other titles from this series of alphabets.

[April Poulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up expecting to find your typical alphabet book, only royalty themed, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it so much more than that! Each letter represents something related to royalty including people (fictional and non-fictional) like Aurora, Cinderella, Pocahontas, Princess Diana, and Queen Elizabeth, objects like a tiara or an orb, places like castles in Europe or the Great Wall of China, and vocabulary words like ball, emperor, and czar. Along with each letter was a brief description or history lesson describing who the people were, where stories or words originated, what words meant, and what people contributed while they were alive. I love the way the author used this book to teach not only letters, but also history and definitions. You can tell that this book was well thought out and prepared, it wasn't just thrown together like some books seem to be. A great thing about this book is it can be used with both younger and older children. With younger children you might omit the lengthy definitions or shorten them into your own words, but older children can read the whole thing and appreciate it because it's more than just an alphabet book.
Beyond the text, this book has beautiful illustrations! I had to read this book in a class so I had to hurry through it, but I could have spent quite some time looking at the pictures and learning about each word that represented a letter. Definitely a book you ought to at least look at!

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part about this Princess book is the gorgeous watercolor artwork by Robert and Lisa Papp. The portraits of Princess Diana and Grace Kelly are worthy of hanging in a gallery somewhere and would be great examples for any art teacher of how realistic the medium can be when done well. The text in this “picture book” is really too extensive for that classification, but the art is such a crucial part of the finished product that I would still call it such. Writers Steven and Deborah Layne use the alphabet as the organizational tool to inform readers of the world of both real life and entertainment princesses. Good choice for students who have outgrown titles like The Paperbag Princess and all those Little Golden Book Disney Princess books but still love the magic and grandeur of royalty. Recommended for readers on at least a 4th grade reading level or as a read aloud for ages 8 and up.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was really cute. The pictures were beautiful and I thought they did a creative job of coming up with something related to royalty for each letter. I also liked how on the side of each page they had a history of where the word came from or the person's background. I felt entertained as an adult and I think a younger child would enjoy it as well.

[Elyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series of books, but especially this one of royalty! I like the fact there is the short version of the story with the main rhymes, but there are more in depth facts to the side.

[Breanna Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very cute, naming things related to princesses and fairytales A-Z. It's a lot to read aloud. I could read the main text and allow the students to read the subtext during recess or quiet time.

6 Traits: Ideas

[Concetta Kellough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated book that actually describes real things about royalty. For example, the book tells us what nobility is, what a ruler's orb is, what the difference is between an emperor and a king, etc. It's quite educational for a picture book.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way more interesting than the cover lets on!

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

This A to Z alphabet shares true facts, history, and fantasy as is takes the reader through the world of royalty, time, people, and places.

[Paul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe “read” isn’t exactly accurate, but I did skim it. For me, it was a pretty lame alphabet.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I assumed this was going to be another quick acrostic glorifying the princess fairytale to little girls. And for early princesses-in-waiting, it is a quick bedtime story. However, I was pleasantly surprised: the quality of illustration is exquisite; the fairytales are appropriately in cartoon style, and the overviews of modern-day princesses and queens are amazingly rendered in a realistic style. Each page has a sidebar of the historical significance of the person, and a short history of their country of origin.So the book grows with the child and is a good vehicle to make the leap between real-life rulers and make-believe characters. Q & A in the back for recall of facts.

[Elevetha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations, most especially the stunningly realistic gorgeous ones by Robert Papp. The more whimsical and charming illustrations were by his wife Lisa Papp, which I liked, but not nearly to the same degree. The book itself is cute, and I liked that there was more information on the sides, something extra for you or for when your child is a bit more grown up.

The word choices for the alphabet were pretty legit, however, I do call foul on their "Z". CZAR?? Really? It's just...it's not a "Z". And while they do acknowledge that, it still seems like cheating. *forever cries over Nicholas just wanting to have a farm in England*

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

While ambitious, the audience who will beg for Princess books will find this fact-alphabet combo book too much. Complete with historical side notes, entries like "X : Xerxes was a clever king
who build a famous ridge of boats. This Persian ruler is our X.
His cunning earns him many votes." are really not going to cut it for the Purplicious crowd who want tiaras and fairies, not history over their head.

[Tanya Wadley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great alphabet with beautiful illustrations and very interesting historical sidenotes... this is not one to be read to young children in one sitting (it will take us 3 or 4). It has given us a lot of interesting things to talk about (Princess Diana, Hawaii, and more... we have a few pages left).

[Julianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, here's the thing: I really liked this book, it had great illustrations, really interesting information, and was fun and informative, but it was not done properly for kids. There are way too many words for a kid to find entertaining, and it felt more like an encyclopedia than a kids picture book. So a good book, but more for adult than for kids.

[Abby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wouldn't read this book to a class, but I definitely think it is something worth having in a classroom library. I loved how it did a little history lesson into some past/current royalties. It was really interesting and I learned a lot of new facts!

[Samantha Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book would be great for children because it is not only a alphabet book but it also has some history in it as well. When they read this book they can learn about real princesses that lived not that long ago.

[Loryn Tindall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes over the alphabet usingthings connected to royalty like past princes and princesses, red carpet, tiaras, etc. It was also provided a bit of information about the royals it talked about. Little girls would love this when learning the alphabet.

[Teri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great illustrations and SO much history! There is a lot to learn from this book.