Renee Ting signs at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
April 25, 2009
April 25, 2009
The Prince's Diary
By Renee Ting
Illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba
$16.95, Hardcover, 32 pages
English Text
Ages 4-8
ISBN-10: 1885008279
ISBN-13: 9781885008275
Dear Diary,
I have fallen in love with the most beautiful girl, but I don’t even know her name!
Young Prince Stephen has a problem: how to find the girl he calls Cinderella. He has seen her from afar, but figuring out how to meet her proves difficult. In this charming version of the Cinderella story, take a peek at the Prince’s personal diary as he tells the well-known story from his point of view.
In his diary, find out what the Prince was feeling when he first met Cinderella, and what he really thinks about her stepsisters! All your burning questions will be answered: Did Cinderella have a fairy godmother? Did the Prince really try a glass slipper on every girl in the kingdom? And most important, what really happened at the ball? In this twist on the familiar tale, the Prince tells it like it is, and you’ll be amazed by the real story.
Follow along with the Prince as he searches for his Cinderella, and discover a whole new way of looking at this classic fairy tale.
News and Thoughts
Elizabeth Dulemba, illustrator for The Prince's Diary, will be appearing at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville, Tennessee October 10-12.
The Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word is a three-day literary Festival celebrated each year during the second full weekend of October. It is free and open to the public. No advance registration or tickets are required. All seating is on a first-come basis.
Southern Festival of Books
October 10-12, 2008
Friday, October 10 from Noon-6 pm
Saturday, October 11 from 9 am-6 pm
Sunday, October 12 from Noon-5 pm
Nashville's War Memorial Plaza
Nashville, TN
The Southern Festival of Books: A Celebration of the Written Word is a three-day literary Festival celebrated each year during the second full weekend of October. It is free and open to the public. No advance registration or tickets are required. All seating is on a first-come basis.
Southern Festival of Books
October 10-12, 2008
Friday, October 10 from Noon-6 pm
Saturday, October 11 from 9 am-6 pm
Sunday, October 12 from Noon-5 pm
Nashville's War Memorial Plaza
Nashville, TN
Elizabeth Dulemba, illustrator of The Prince's Diary, will be at the Decatur Book Festival at the end of August. She'll be presenting and signing her newest title, Paco and the Giant Chile Plant.
The Third Annual AJC Decatur Book Festival
August 29-31, 2008
The Third Annual AJC Decatur Book Festival
August 29-31, 2008
The Prince's Diary by Renee Ting and illustrated by Elizabeth Dulemba
Ages 4-8 will relish this new take on the Cinderella story, which comes from the Prince's viewpoint. Elizabeth Dulemba provides lovely drawings and kids will find plenty of embellishment on the story of a frustrated prince who finds all kinds of things wrong with women - until he meets a particularly elusive woman. Better cover art would have attracted initial attention, but the story itself is excellent and appealing
Ages 4-8 will relish this new take on the Cinderella story, which comes from the Prince's viewpoint. Elizabeth Dulemba provides lovely drawings and kids will find plenty of embellishment on the story of a frustrated prince who finds all kinds of things wrong with women - until he meets a particularly elusive woman. Better cover art would have attracted initial attention, but the story itself is excellent and appealing
The Prince's Diary is the charming story, written in diary form, from the Prince's point of view, his thoughts are as he sees and falls in love with Cinderella. It has a little different twist from the original story. Prince Stephen is out for a ride on his horse Silver when he sees the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. True to the story, she is wearing old, torn clothes as she fetches water. He falls in love at first sight.
The Queen invites young women to the castle to meet the Prince, but his thoughts are always with Cinderella. He asks his father about the family who lives at the edge of the woods. The King relates much the same story we are familiar with, about Cinderella and her two stepsisters.
A gala ball is planned and all eligible women are invited. This is where the plot changes. Prince Stephen takes a walk to escape the unwelcome advances of the stepsisters, and he finds Cinderella hiding in the bushes. She was unable to attend because she did not have the proper clothing. The Prince and Cinderella talk and enjoy each others company until the partygoers are leaving. Cinderella rushes home and the Prince finds a glass slipper, but it is not Cinderella's. It was left behind by one of the sisters. When the Prince returns the slipper to the stepsister he invites Cinderella to accompany him for a ride along the creek. To the sisters' chagrin the two of them ride off into the sunset.
Beautifully illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba, your child will enjoy the cute, mischievous mice playing on each page. The tale of Cinderella through the eyes of the Prince in diary form is a new spin on this old classic fairy tale.
The Queen invites young women to the castle to meet the Prince, but his thoughts are always with Cinderella. He asks his father about the family who lives at the edge of the woods. The King relates much the same story we are familiar with, about Cinderella and her two stepsisters.
A gala ball is planned and all eligible women are invited. This is where the plot changes. Prince Stephen takes a walk to escape the unwelcome advances of the stepsisters, and he finds Cinderella hiding in the bushes. She was unable to attend because she did not have the proper clothing. The Prince and Cinderella talk and enjoy each others company until the partygoers are leaving. Cinderella rushes home and the Prince finds a glass slipper, but it is not Cinderella's. It was left behind by one of the sisters. When the Prince returns the slipper to the stepsister he invites Cinderella to accompany him for a ride along the creek. To the sisters' chagrin the two of them ride off into the sunset.
Beautifully illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba, your child will enjoy the cute, mischievous mice playing on each page. The tale of Cinderella through the eyes of the Prince in diary form is a new spin on this old classic fairy tale.
What was Cinderella's handsome prince doing while his future lady was toiling away at her work and wishing for a way to the ball? The Prince's Diary, a sweet new picture book from Renee Ting and Elizabeth O. Dulemba, answers that question. The book gives a charming and humorous flip side to the famous fairy tale, showing the prince bored stiff by his mother's marriage schemes and by all the young lovelies who would like to be his bride. What would he like to do instead? He wants to visit the whistling, rag-bedecked girl he keeps spotting. He doesn't know her name, but he writes in his diary, "I think I'll call her Cinderella."
Does the book take some liberties with the fairy tale? Definitely. There is a ball, a glass slipper, a prince, and a toiling girl named Cinderella (I mean Cynthia), but that's about it. Which is absolutely fine: folk tales are intrinsically changeable. The famous Disney film took incredible liberties with the story: the Grimm's collected tale "Ashenputtel" contained no fairy godmother at all, but a magic tree (which hinted at the ghostly existence of Cinderella's dead mother) that shook down magical dresses from its enchanted leaves.
Although the step-mother's evil intentions towards Cinderella are creepily palpable in the Disney version of the story, the film actually sapped the original tale of some of its darker elements (in the original tale, the step-sisters don't just get their hopes dashed, they get their feet bloodied and their eyes pecked out). The Prince's Diary goes a step further in lightening the story and gives us a cheery, unflappable Miss, who although apparently barred from the ball by her step-mother (and who doesn't make a gown-decked appearance at all), never lets her spirits droop and who never stops smiling.
Smile or no smile, the big question we must ask any version of the famous tale is this: does Cindy get her man? If a horse ride, shared blackberry scones, and furious step-relations are any indication, then this "Cinderella" hints at a happy ending worthy of all its predecessors. Elizabeth Dulemba's comical, perky drawings and Renee Ting's sweet text make this picture book a wonderful addition to the Cinderella tradition.
Does the book take some liberties with the fairy tale? Definitely. There is a ball, a glass slipper, a prince, and a toiling girl named Cinderella (I mean Cynthia), but that's about it. Which is absolutely fine: folk tales are intrinsically changeable. The famous Disney film took incredible liberties with the story: the Grimm's collected tale "Ashenputtel" contained no fairy godmother at all, but a magic tree (which hinted at the ghostly existence of Cinderella's dead mother) that shook down magical dresses from its enchanted leaves.
Although the step-mother's evil intentions towards Cinderella are creepily palpable in the Disney version of the story, the film actually sapped the original tale of some of its darker elements (in the original tale, the step-sisters don't just get their hopes dashed, they get their feet bloodied and their eyes pecked out). The Prince's Diary goes a step further in lightening the story and gives us a cheery, unflappable Miss, who although apparently barred from the ball by her step-mother (and who doesn't make a gown-decked appearance at all), never lets her spirits droop and who never stops smiling.
Smile or no smile, the big question we must ask any version of the famous tale is this: does Cindy get her man? If a horse ride, shared blackberry scones, and furious step-relations are any indication, then this "Cinderella" hints at a happy ending worthy of all its predecessors. Elizabeth Dulemba's comical, perky drawings and Renee Ting's sweet text make this picture book a wonderful addition to the Cinderella tradition.
Wowee! Booksense has chosen The Prince's Dairy as it's #1 pick for Valentine's Day reading this year! It is ranked above such classics as I Love You Forever and the recently popular Brokeback Mountain.
Congratulations, Prince!
Congratulations, Prince!
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"Elizabeth Dulemba's comical, perky drawings and Renee Ting's sweet text make this picture book a wonderful addition to the Cinderella tradtion."
-BookPleasures.comRenee Ting grew up in upstate New York and studied music at Harvard. Since then, Renee has made a career selling and publishing books and is currently the president of Shen's Books. When not reading or writing, Renee sings in two choirs, tutors children in writing and math, and is constantly experimenting with new scone recipes. Renee lives near San Francisco in Walnut Creek, California. The Prince's Diary is her first picture book.
Elizabeth O. Dulemba received a BFA in Graphic Design from the University of Georgia after a lifetime of art training. She spent fifteen years in the industry, mostly with child-related businesses, before becoming a full-time author and illustrator of children’s picture books. Elizabeth lives in a log cabin in the beautiful North Georgia Mountains with her husband, two big dogs, and a tiny cat who rules them all.
Shen’s Books is a publisher of multicultural children’s literature that emphasizes cultural diversity and tolerance, with a focus on introducing children to the cultures of Asia.
Through books, we can share a world a stories, building greater understanding and tolerance within our increasingly diverse communities as well as throughout our continuously shrinking globe.
Recent Events
Visions: Renee at the LA Times Festival of Books, 2009
October 10-12, 2008: Elizabeth Dulemba at the Southern Festival of Books
August 30-31, 2008: Elizabeth Dulemba at the Decatur Book Festival
News: Archives
Related Titles
The Prince's Diary
By Renee Ting
Illustrated by Elizabeth O. Dulemba
$16.95, Hardcover, 32 pages
English Text
Ages 4-8
ISBN-10: 1885008279
ISBN-13: 9781885008275