The Wide-Awake Princess
By Vladimir Vagin (Illustrator); Katherine Paterson
(Clarion Books, Library Binding, 9780395537770, 48pp.)
Publication Date: March 2000
Categories: Fairy Tales & Folklore - Single Title
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In this amusing, eloquently told story, created by Katherine Paterson specifically for artist Vladimir Vagin to illustrate with his beautifully detailed watercolors, there was born a wise little princess who was different from everyone else. Miranda had been granted the gift of being wide awake all her waking hours. Thus, unlike those before her, she was able to see that the peasants of the kingdom were overworked and starving while the nobles lived in selfish luxury. Miranda, with confidence and determination, forms an innovative plan to help her people overcome their oppression, and in the process reveals the power of words to vanquish ignorance and bring about change.
Katherine Paterson's international fame rests not only on her widely acclaimed novels but also on her efforts to promote literacy in the United States and abroad. A two-time winner of the Newbery Medal (Bridge to Terabithia and Jacob Have I Loved) and the National Book Award (The Great Gilly Hopkins and The Master Puppeteer), she has received many accolades for her body of work, including the Hans Christian Andersen Medal, the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, and the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts, given by her home state of Vermont. She was also named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress.Ms. Paterson is vice president of the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance (www.thencbla.org), which is a not-for-profit education and advocacy organization. The NCBLA's innovative projects actively promote literacy, literature, libraries, and the arts. She is both an Alida Cutts Lifetime Member of the United States Board on Books for Young People (www.usbby.org) and a lifetime member of the International Board on Books for Young People (www.ibby.org).Her most recent book is The Day of the Pelican, a moving, dramatic story of a refugee family's flight from war-torn Kosovo to America. It is the 2010 selection for Vermont Reads, a statewide reading program.She and her husband, John, live in Barre, Vermont. They have four children and seven grandchildren. For more information, visit www.terabithia.com.
"Paterson, who is best known to an older audience, weaves a princess tale with a couple of twists. The King and Queen proclaim a feast to celebrate Miranda’s birth, but the whole castle falls asleep before the guests arrive. So when Miranda’s fairy godmother finally appears, she gifts the child with the ability to be truly awake all her days. As Miranda grows, she studies castle life, and when her parents die, and the nobles tell her she can’t be queen, she goes off to learn what her people’s lives are really like. . . . The importance of listening, the courage to make a difference, the certainty that good takes time are ideas skillfully presented and lessons that make the lattice of the story. Vagin . . . contributes dry, slightly exaggerated pen-and- watercolor images that support the wry slant of the text."
Booklist, ALA
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Faithful Place Tana French Viking Adult |
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Mr. Peanut Adam Ross Knopf |
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The Cookbook Collector Allegra Goodman The Dial Press |
