(Originally posted October 13, 2010)
The Secret Lives of Princesses
Written by Philippe Lechermeier
Illustrated by Rébecca Dautremer
Translated by Toula Ballas
Sterling Publishing 2010
Reviewed by Frances Maclean
In early October the New York Times reported on the “sad little death” that is currently being inflicted en masse in bookstores throughout the nation upon the once-beloved, bright and glossy children’s picture book. While the economic downturn is cited as a major factor, another cause appears to be the hurry with which many parents are urging their young children onwards and upwards into chapter books. This, some publishers believe, is a measure of the pressure parents are feeling to help their youngsters meet the increased demands of standardized school testing. Yes, books without pictures challenge a reader to build storyscapes out of their own imagination – and that is certainly one of the most valuable and rewarding skills a reader will acquire in their lifetime. But just as we extrapolate images from words the reverse is also true – from the richness of great picture book illustrations we extrapolate layer upon layer of story.
My first encounter with ‘The Secret Lives of Princesses’ (illustrated by Rébecca Dautremer and written by Philippe Lechermeier) accentuated this aspect, happening as it did in a foreign bookstore on a pre-recession vacation. Translated into Spanish from its native French (neither of which I can read), the book’s painted princess portraits demanded attention (much like the real sort would, one assumes). Without immediate access to the words I was left to marvel at the images – ranging from the indulgent (Princess Molly Coddle luxuriating in her bathtub surrounded by various powders and perfumery and an abundance of red roses) to the moody (Princess Hot-Head, her crown a heart-shaped cage, open and surrounded by escaped butterflies) to the dreamy and whimsical (Princess Picaresque – a tightrope unicycling circus artist aloft in the Australian sky) through to the brooding shadows of the Night Princess or the sly gentle humor of the less than adept tarot-reading Princess Claire Voyant, sheltering alone on an otherwise empty beach in the midst of a plainly bad-weather day. These are not fairy tale princesses as we think they should be – rather they’re as recognizable and varied as our selves.
Fortunately, in March of this year the English language translation of this beautiful book was published in the U.S. – accompanied by its very own website and assorted bells and whistles that many less able books now feel compelled to adorn themselves with. Although I don’t know how faithfully Toula Ballas’s English language translation runs to the original French version, I can tell you that the text (and its detail) certainly holds its own in playfully answering Dautremer’s superb illustrations and further enriching the book as a whole. Needless to say it is not the sliding princess puzzle on the book’s website that ultimately wooed me, nor the way that the site bestowed upon me my very own princess name (Her Elevated Charmingness, Princess Frances Salient Sashayer of Brooklyn), it is the story working together with the pictures.
Although historically the French may not have a reputation for prolonging the lives of royalty – in this instance, The Secret Lives of Princesses deserves a very long life indeed.
New York Times Article: Picture Books No Longer a Staple for Children