The Princess and the Hound (original 2007; udgave 2008)

See
http://bookzone.zedzone.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17672 ( )

This was an original take on at least two fairy tales. I was sucked right in to George's sensitive character and the mysteries he was trying to unravel about himself and the people around him. ( )

This is the story of a young prince with a forbidden gift which allows him to communicate with animals. Prince George has grown up knowing he is different. He has little personal relationships with anyone other than his mother because of their shared magic. His father, the king, while a good king to his country is a stranger to his son. When Prince George is old enough he enters into an agreement to marry the daughter of a rival kingdom to ensure peace between their nations, but the daughter has a secret of her own that could change everything for George.

This is a well told story which deals a lot with duty to yourself and duty to others. I thought the story went quickly and didn't lag so it was pretty easy to read. I liked the way the interactions of he animal magic between humans and animals didn't overly "humanize" the communication. With the exception of the hound all the animals were depicted as animals and acted as you would expect.

Overall an interesting and quick story that would be good for older elementary age and tweens. ( )

This is VERY similar to Robin McKinley. She's created an "original fairy tale" - and her strong suit here is the characters. ( )

http://persyandarty.blogspot.com/2010/08/persy-princess-and-hound-by-mette-ivie....
Not good for a number of reasons. When neither the characters nor the ending is good, nothing can save the book. ( )