A few years ago an acquaintance shared a childhood favorite book on social media, and it was new to me. That doesn’t happen often, so I was curious about it. The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye was published in 1980. It was around during my childhood, but I somehow didn’t come across it. Perhaps it’s all for the best. I didn’t develop a real appreciation for fairy tales until I was an adult anyway.
In an effort to share my appreciation for fairy tales with my daughter, I chose The Ordinary Princess as a read-aloud a few years ago, and we followed Princess Amy’s adventure eagerly from the moment she was cursed with ordinariness to her friendship with Peregrine and to the happily ever after that we knew was coming. The story was fun and different and all about just being yourself, which I love, of course. Not to mention, I have a thing for the run away princess trope, as I’ve mentioned.
So when I heard that there was a new graphic novel inspired by The Ordinary Princess, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. My daughter, who must have been 7 or 8 when we read The Ordinary Princess together, is now an eleven-year-old graphic novel enthusiast. Or perhaps “super fan” might be a better word? Either way, turning a story we loved when she was younger into a graphic novel aimed at middle graders is just about perfect for us. The story isn’t the same in this version, but the feeling is. In Extraordinary, Cassie Anderson turned M.M. Kaye’s sweet story about finding your own version of happily ever after into a something kids in 2019 can relate to even more than a story that ends with a couple of kids getting married. Here we have a princess who finally feels like she belongs. I love it.
It’s fun to compare/contrast the two stories, but you definitely don’t need to have read the novel before reading the graphic novel. Happy reading, fairy tale fans!
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