Princess Smartypants

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Are there any unfamiliar words in the story (e.g. suitor, accomplish, vertigo)? Can you find out what they mean? Could you explain their meanings to somebody else? It was with Beware of the Vet (1982) that her zany sense of humour and delight in the absurd was first fully unleashed. The account of the mayhem that follows when Mr MacPlaster, the vet, mistakes cow hormones for aspirin and grows horns and a tail was a trailblazer for many of Babette’s subsequent titles. Taking a similar “what if?” premise, The Trouble With Mum (1983) stars a mum who is a witch and focuses on the deep and hilarious embarrassment that this causes at the school gates. It is a simple problem captured brilliantly by Babette in the best tradition of great picture books, by contrasting sparing, deadpan text with frothily inventive illustrations. The names of the male characters are derogatory, and when a prince does complete her list of complex tasks, instead of marrying him as promised, she turns him into a frog. This story is about an unconventional princess who doesn’t want to get married. She likes to spend time with her unusual pets and ride her motorbike. When suitors come to marry her she teaches all the princes a lesson by giving them horrible challenges to overcome so they run away. All except one prince who is very clever and passes all the challenges set by princess smartypants. She isn’t amused and teaches him an ultimate lesson. Princess Smartypants kisses the prince and he turns into a frog.

Reversals] create empathy and are great detectors of bias, in ourselves as well as in others, for they expose injustices that seem normal and so are invisible. In fact, the deeper and less visible the bias, the more helpful it is to take some commonly accepted notion about one race, class, ethnicity, ability — whatever — and see how it sounds when transferred to another. […] To uncover the difference between what is and what could be, we may need the “Aha!” that comes from exchanging subject for object, the flash of recognition that starts with the smile, the moment of changed viewpoint that turns the world upside down. Her most famous book is probably Princess Smartypants, a reimagining of the traditional fairytale in which the helpless princess is whisked off her feet by her prince charming. But in Babette Cole’s version, the princess is a fiercely independent woman who is pressured by her parents, the king and the queen, into finding a man. Her attitude is clear from the first line of the book: We believe that books are a great way to raise awareness and improve understanding of different experiences. This booklist aims to provide a range of children's and teens' books that feature characters who are on the autistic spectrum or have Asperger’s Syndrome. I loved this book as it is about a princess that unlike many girls is not bothered about her title, fame or fortune. This princess doesn't want to be a queen: She likes her motorcycle, her dragon friends, and her independence! In this feminist reworking of a classic fairy-tale theme, Princess Smartypants defies her parents' wishes, outwits her suitors, and remains a content and single young lady. The text and illustrations are full of humour. Oh, how my mother - a woman whose favorite shirt said If they can send one man to the moon, why not all of them? - would have loved this book!From the lowbrow names of "Prince Pelvis, Swimbladder, Boneshaker, Grovel etc. and the overall disrespectful, non-familial attitudes to the man-hating, lying, deal breaking princess this book was feminist rubbish from top to bottom." (From a 1-star review)

Princess Smartypants is rebellious, fiercely independent and perfectly happy to be single. Clad in dungarees and muddy wellies, she loves caring for her menagerie of unusual pets, including a selection of giant slugs, snails, spiders and dragons. Frustratingly, suitors are forever turning up to win her hand and she is under constant pressure from her parents to smarten up and settle down. I am a Ms. I am not a Mrs, and I like the idea of a story about an independent girl who doesn't want to be a Mrs, and is happy to be a Ms. But this story missed the mark. The princess comes across as deceitful, game-playing, dishonest and arrogant: more Princess Pants-on-Fire than Princess Smartypants.Princess Smartypants is rebellious, independent, and very happy being single - but her parents want her to get married and settle down! This hilarious picture book has a subversive protagonist and a strong message about choosing your own destiny. I start off by displaying the image from the book’s front cover with all the text removed. Who is this person on a motorbike in biker clothes, I ask? What does she do? Sometimes a pupil will notice the tiny crown balanced precariously on her head, sometimes no one will. Create a timetable showing the different things that Princess Smartypants might do at the start of the story. Princess Smartypants is an example of a children’s picture book which uses gender reversal to tell a story that would never really happen. What if women of high socio-economic status could choose their own marriage/non-marriage partners? The ending plays into the stereotypically MRA fear — if women were allowed autonomy they may choose not to include men at all. I’m no huge fan of Brave. I do know a few little girls who love it to bits, mainly because of the archery. But there’s something not quite right about the story arc, and I feel it’s a bit cheap to play the princes for laughs.