Most of all, we have a lot of fun. And when we’re done with Princess Smartypants, we move on to Prince Cinders, a pretty weedy-looking royal specimen.

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. 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.

🍪 Privacy & Transparency

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. This [narrative] isn’t just saying that women don’t have to marry, it’s saying that women can humiliate men, force them to work, then don’t marry them. In fact, Princess Smartypants can only live happily ever after when she has rid herself of essentially all men (who are, needless to say, intimidated by her transfiguring osculations). Just like all women! We females can only be free once men have become the toads they are at heart!

Babette Cole subverts the reader’s expectation that the prince and princess will end up married. These days it doesn’t seem such a radical story at all, but that’s only because we’ve seen it before. Lesson 4 - Use vocabulary built over the week to write a character description, focusing on choosing interesting adjectives to create expanded noun phrases. 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.

Design a new set of challenges for the princes who want to marry Princess Smartypants. Create a new illustration to accompany them in the book. She’ll vet some suitors, but she’ll set such enormous tasks that there’s no way they’ll be able to accomplish them. BIG STRUGGLE Lesson 2 - Introduce adjectives. Use ‘role on the wall’ to build vocabulary to describe the main character - focus on appearance. Not only is it funny and cute, it teaches children that no matter what, they don't have to compromise their boundaries and they don't have to conform to society's expectations." (From a 5-star review) great sense of humor and a beautiful message about being yourself and standing up for what you believe is right." (From a 5-star revew)

The possibilities for activities are endless with this fabulous piece of fiction. I love hearing pupils’ ideas for how the princes could complete their crazy tasks - suggestions have included hiring a helicopter to feed the pets and drinking an energy drink before the roller disco. We also create freeze-frames of scenes from the story, take photos and write captions to go with them. What I liked about this story is that it was very unique and not conventional. It depicts a princess in a manner that is not common in pupils’ eyes. When children think of a princess they like to think about someone beautiful and graceful and kind, this princess is none of those things. Babette Cole has been very creative in using humour in this story, e.g. the names of the princes and the name of the princess. 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: 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. Then we reach the ending of the book, which appeals to my feminist nature and provokes all sorts of discussion about the children’s own families: Princess Smartypants doesn’t get married, but she does live happily ever after in a truly modern fairy tale.Choose one of the challenges that a prince was set. Write about it in more detail to explain what happened to the prince. This hilarious picture book with its wonderfully subversive protagonist sends a strong message to young readers about the importance being in control of one’s own destiny. Vibrant watercolour illustrations are full of energy and contain a wealth of witty detail which children will adore. 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. Princess Smartypants” is probably one of Babette Cole’s greatest books ever created. This book is a creative story about a princess who just wanted to do the activities that she enjoys doing despite what her parents say. Also, Princess Smartypants is one of the few heroines who have lots of spunk and independence deep within themselves. “Princess Smartypants” is a perfect book for both kids and adults who enjoy messages about independence and confidence.

There are some lessons that you just can’t help repeating year after year; the reaction you receive from each class is so different and interesting that it makes you pull the old favourite out again and again. My must-do lesson focuses on Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole. When we reach the part where the princess - who has some incredibly extreme hobbies - sets her potential husbands a series of tasks, we come up with ideas to help the poor princes who are keen to win Smartypants’ hand in marriage. We then compile these suggestions in a handbook called “How to Help a Prince”.Write a set of instructions to teach people how to look after some of Princess Smartypants’ amazing pets. A four lesson unit of work based around the book Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole. A read through of this book can be found on YouTube if you don’t have a physical copy. The outcome by the end of a unit is a character description. The unit can be used to introduce adjectives.