Disney Princess Beginnings: Cinderella and Belle

Disney Princess Beginnings is a new chapter book series for Disney lovers in the vein of the Disney Fairies series and previous princess series.

The books are written for a slightly younger crowd than both the previous series, but they're still plenty enjoyable for adult fans.

Cinderella's book has her participating in her town's puppet show to win a gold coin so she can buy a dress. She's having trouble with her designs and meets a local girl who works with her mother on a grumpy man's farm, taking care of his animals. She's hoping to use the prize coin to buy a goat, so she and her mother can eventually buy their own farm. Cinderella teams up with Val, offering space for Val to work in exchange for Val teaching her more about sewing and puppet construction. Both girls end up putting on a great show, but who will win and can that girl enjoy the prize when she knows how badly her friend wants to win?

The book is quite cute, but also bittersweet, because Cinderella's mother is a central character, and you see how happy their little family is. Knowing what's in store for Cinderella, it's a bit sad to read. I did rather like how they made Cinderella a nickname her parents gave her, not another instrument of abuse from her steps. Her real name, predictably, is Ella. It was a good way to work in the use of the recognizable name.

Belle's book was even better than Cinderella's, I think. Belle is having trouble fitting in when she's a young girl. The triplets from the movie and another little girl in Belle's class all have dolls, so Belle finally gets one, only to carve her ears into fairy's ears, paint her purple and attach some wings to her back. The other kids make fun of Belle's doll, but she still keeps bringing her to school anyway. Belle tries to fit in with her classmates and ends up going into an old bookshop everyone thought was abandoned. There she meets the owner and becomes enchanted with the shop and with reading, even more than she already was. But Belle soon learns the shop is going to be sold. Can she figure out a way to make the town fall in love with it like she has?

Belle's story was much easier for me to read than Cinderella's, because the family situation is already like it was in the movie. Her mother passed away when she was very little, so she isn't a presence. Also, I just really love Belle.

The illustrations in these books are absolutely gorgeous, as they always are in Disney chapter books. I'm very excited for future books and disappointed this is the only time we'll get multiple books at once! Ariel's comes out in July and she and two sisters end up swept out to sea by a huge wave. I can't wait to see which two sisters it is, because I'm a huge fan of the daughters of Triton.