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Title: Princess Pigsty

Author: Cornelia Funke

Translator: Chantal Wright

Illustrator: Kerstin Meyer

Publisher: Chicken House

Date Published: 2007

Format: Hardback

Genre: Other

Book Category: Picture Book

Age Range: Under_5

Original Title: First published in German

Country of Origin: Germany

Princess Pigsty

by Cornelia Funke
Age Range: Under_5

In a castle far away, three princesses live in absolute luxury. But Princess Isabella has had enough! When Isabella refuses to have her hair curled and wear her crown and princess dress, her father, the King, sends her to the kitchen to see how she likes the servant life instead. When Isabella still refuses to be a princess, she gets sent to the pigsty. But what will happen if Isabella decides she likes living with the pigs?

Cornelia Funke has created a fabulous heroine in her stubborn princess. Isabella is very funny and especially shows that no matter what your station in life, you should lend a hand, with her examples of mucking in around the kitchen and the pigsty. The text is also very simple as there are no words that will go over a younger audience’s heads and Chantal Wright’s translation is great fun, with a very comic air. Cornelia Funke tells the story at a good pace, as Isabella moves quickly from job to job, having a lot of fun as she goes. In particular, she makes the kitchen and the pigsty seem like two really exciting places to be and manages to get lots of interesting sounding activities out of them, despite the fact that Isabella is doing the sort of chores that most people hate.

Kerstin Meyer’s illustrations really bring the story to life; they are so expressive and really comic. A particular favourite is Isabella hiding under her bed. Her pigs are a triumph; they all look so different and have such individual personalities although they are very simple illustrations. Most importantly though, the golden-haired, crown-wearing princesses look just as a princess ought and little girls should love them for this.

Although this is probably more of a girls’ book as it has lots of female characters and an emphasis on being a princess, it is entertaining and has a lot of fun. Especially good is how the author manages to subtly show the importance of acceptance. She creates a family where the differences of one member cause problems, so how will the others accept this? Will the precious princesses and the puzzled king learn to love Isabella as she is?

Abby Phillips (2010)

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