La princesa de largos cabellos. (The Long Haired Princess)

Reviewed by Beth Rotella, New York, NY -- Críticas, 4/1/2008

van Haeringen, Annemarie.
tr. by Goedele De Sterck. illus. by Gil Martínez. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Económica (Los especiales de A la Orilla del Viento). 2007. 27p. ISBN 978-9681-684-716. $9.99.

K-Gr 2–In a far away country lives a young princess with a peculiar problem: her hair is way too long! She would very much like to cut it, but her father forbids it, insisting that her mane is a treasure. Five servants are hired to brush it every day and nine ladies come to wash it in a swimming pool once a week. The princess’s silky black hair gets so long that she has to carry it around in two suitcases; which in turn get so heavy that her father hires a strongman from the circus to follow her around carrying the heavy loads. When time comes for her to marry, the king tells the rich young men in neighboring countries about the princess’s “treasure,” and they all come seeking her hand. Yet the princess has other plans. She runs away to join the circus, becomes a trapeze artist and ultimately cuts her hair to a more reasonable length. The simple, watercolor illustrations work well with the short but sweet text. Translated from the original Dutch, this story of independence and freedom reads like a fairy tale with a modern-day ending. Young readers, particularly girls from Hispanic backgrounds in which long hair is often an issue, will surely find it entertaining. Appropriate for classrooms and libraries alike.