Oh, to be a princess...that's the life...or is it. Susie Morgenstern dishes out two very clever stories that bring fairy tales and the magical life of royalty down to earth. In the first story, Princess Yona and her family fall on hard times, have to sell the huge, old castle, and move to a four room apartment in the city, where for the first time in her life she makes friends and finds out about a place called school. In the second, Princess Emma has a terrible, agonizing, unreachable itch right in the middle of her back, and decides that the prince who can scratch her itch out of existence, is the man she'll marry. Ms Morgenstern's easy to read prose is filled with droll humor and witty, laugh-out-loud scenes that lead to unpredictable and totally modern, happily-ever-after endings. Serge Bloch's simple black and white cartoon illustrations add a light and comical touch with their funny and expressive details. Perfect for youngsters 8-12, Princesses Are People, Too is sure to engage and entertain your little princess, as it takes a delightful look at some of the real problems facing modern royalty.

This book is delightful! Fresh metaphors and quotable lines abound. I feel like a French way of thinking and living permeates this book, and the translation captures a way of thought that is different from that in America. Another thing I noticed is the proliferation of cross-age friendships, as people of many different stages of life join their lives together. This book is a definite "keeper"!

thats whats ernest thinks.i very good book,a dead mother a father who disapeared and a grandmother who is old and kind thats what ernest lives with.dose he find his father?what does secret letters 0-10 mean?does he have any friends?find out in this interesting book.

I don't know if it is the rhythm of the story, or the delightful characters and their changing relationships that enchanted me so in this story of Ernest and his completely boring, predictable world being upset by Victoria, the new girl in school.

Ernest has lived a clockwork life with his elderly grandmother and equally aged housekeeper for 10 years. That begins to change, when Victoria and her 13 brothers come into his life. He begins to stray from his dull routine, and one day, discovers a book in the grocery store. He has NEVER been to the grocery store until he helps Victoria, but on this fateful day, he discovers a book in the paperback rack that may have the answer to his life-long question; where is his father, and why did he leave him?

As Ernest pursues this quest, he finally begins to live life, bringing his grandmother along with him. Ernest does discover the answer to many of his questions, but more importantly, he, along with his grandmother, discover what it means to really live and love. "Secret Letters From 0 to 10" is a completely charming read.

I was really excited about reading the Book of Coupons. It had a cute premise about a teacher giving away coupons to teach kids about the really important lessons of life-- like not taking yourself too seriously, etc. But the plot never went anywhere. The kids never learned anything. The characters were never developed, and I felt I had wasted my time reading this book. At least it was short!

This book was first published in 1999 in French, under the title of Joker. The class returning to an unnamed grammar school for its final year were happy about finishing a French summer that grown boring, but found their new teacher, Hubert Noel, decidedly alarming.

He sat behind the desk like some unmovable tree trunk, and was so fat that Mohammed wondered if he were seeing double, or triple. He had so many wrinkles that some students thought he resembled "those pictures of God, with messy white hair and reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, not to mention the balloon potbelly." His voice sounded like it came from the bowels of the earth.

But most alarming of all were the first words he spoke. Not, "my name is," or "sit down please" but "I have a present for you." And then the monstrosity gave each student a wrapped package. Inside, the children each discovered a book of coupons. They were not the kind of coupons one could use in a store.

No, each book contained one coupon for activities usually forbidden by schools--sleeping late, skipping a day of school, being late to school, losing your homework, forgetting your books, not listening in class, sleeping in class, copying from your neighbor, not going when called to the blackboard, getting out of trouble, eating in class, making a lot of noise, singing at the top of your lungs when you like, dancing in class, taking a break, clowning around, telling a lie and giving the teacher a kiss.

The children were so startled by what they found that Benedicte, whom Mr. Noel appointed to read the coupons, had to stop, and Mohammed took over. He read six more coupons--one each for hugging whomever you like, taking your own sweet time, taking a never--ending recess, forgetting the books for your assignment, taking a longer vacation and the piece de resistance, one wild card coupon.

At first the students used lots of coupons, but as the year progressed, they found that it was more fun to come to school and use the coupons en masse. This made for some surprising capers.

Everything Mr. Noel offered them was some present. An assignment to read Charles Dickens, for example, began with their receipt of gift-wrapped copies of David Copperfield. Try as they might to avoid reading it, they rather enjoyed the--er, presents--that Mr. Noel had given them. Aside from the pleasant fact that the author had the same name, Charles found he could not put the book down, and stayed up all night reading, which led him to use his late-to-school coupon the next day.

Before long, Mr. Noel got himself into very hot water with the tyrannical school principal, Incarnation Perez. How he extracted himself from that difficulty is but one of the things that makes this book magical.

Another is the priceless lesson that Mr. Noel imparted. "When you're born, you get a whole bunch of coupons."

Which ones? Charles, Laurent, and Benedicte shouted, the coupons for life--for walking, speaking, learning to read, learning languages, learning geography biology and all the other 'ologies,' for sports, the coupons for love.

Then the children did something very wild with their 26 collected wild card coupons. But you'll have to read this delightful tale to find out what. Alyssa A. Lappen

this might be the worst book ive ever read, actually it definately is. it has no value whatsoever, dont read this to your kids, class, friends, any one, it should never be read. it is (...), doesnt deserve the one star.

This is Susie Morgenstern's first published young adult book in the U.S. In it, William get suspended for telling his teacher the truth about what he was thinking at the particular moment he was thinking it. During his three days off, he just lets life take him to unpredictable places. That's where he meets a few different folks who basically all tell him not to waste his life--to study, to think, to get educated. The book is a fun, fast read, honest!and Morgenstern's quirky funny sense of people is what comes through. Her gift is that she can allow heavy things to feel lighter. This other guy's review didn't say much and only serves to discourage boys who have something to learn about life--from reading this book!