a little princess was one of my favorite books as a child. the 90s movie based on it was a favorite movie of mine, as well. a little princess was on my to-reread list for three reasons: 1) it is on lena dunham's ideal bookshelf, 2) esperanza rising reminded me of it, and 3) i was kind of bored by the secret garden and wondered if i had made up my loving of a little princess as a kid. i finally reread it when i discovered, may 12-18 was children's books week and thought a little princess would be the perfect way to celebrate!
it was a perfect celebration because i loved a little princess just as much as i did as a child, maybe even more. quick summary, sara was a sweet and wealthy child that is sent to boarding school in london. she had a very loving father, captain crewe that sent her away to be raised properly since they lived in india, her mother died when she was young. her father indulged sara, he gave her everything her heart desired but sara wasn't a spoiled, unbearable. self-centered brat, in fact she was a well-mannered little princess (hence the title) that always thought of others. sara had a decent time at boarding school where she was star pupil. the headmistress was sadly jealous of her wealthy and of course there were mean girls, but sara befriended a pudgy girl, a young little monster that she pretended to be mother to, and a servant girl named becky.
then sadly one day, sara's world is turned upside down. on the day of her big birthday party, it is discovered that captain crewe died from stress of a business venture that had to do with diamond mines, leaving sara an orphan and penniless. instead of being sympathetic, the head mistress is outraged that her star pupil was worth nothing especially considering all that she had just spent on her extravagant birthday party. (i personally was disgusted by the head mistress' behavior, the poor child lost her father but all she cared about was her money!) sara then became a servant at the school, since she was so intelligent her work included tutoring and running special errands.
since sara was raised so well by her father and had such a sweet spirit, though it was tough being a servant, it does not destroy her. she used her imagination to make her living conditions more bearable. she also befriended the rats that lived in the attic with her.
then one day a gentleman from indian moved in next door to the boarding school. sara met his ram dass and his monkey. the ram dass then told the gentleman of sara and they begin to make sara's dreams come true by providing her with food and proper bedding and clothing. the ram dass would sneak in while sara did her chores. one day the monkey ran into sara's window and she went next door to return him herself. and then its is discovered that the gentleman was her father's business partner and he had been looking for her (he was searching for her in paris then russia when she happened to be next door the whole time!). the diamond mines were real and she was rich!!!! of course the head mistress heard and tried to make it seemed like she cared for sara but the ram dass and seen how sara was treated and told the gentleman. in the end, sara lived happily ever after and was a real little princess.
okay, so the story cleans up a little too nicely at the end but it's a children's book. sara was so caring and loving that you wanted her to have a happy ending. it really is a lovely modernish fairy tale for girls and once that will remind them the truly rich are those girls of good character.
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