Readers will happily recognize many classic tales and applaud new ones in this collection of sparkly princess tales. Thirteen stories are contained within the volume, by such authors as Virginia Haviland, Vivian French, Lloyd Alexander and Eleanor Farjeon. The stories vary greatly in their length, the shortest being five pages and the longest being twenty pages. The illustrations are black-and-white and effectively provide a visual interpretation of the tales for younger non-readers. Old favorites, including "The Princess and the Pea" and "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" are retold along with some new ones. "The Wrestling Princess" relates the story of a six foot tall princess who likes to wrestle and drive forklift trucks. "Petronella" tells of a princess who reverses traditional roles and goes in search of her perfect prince, and in "The Spider in the Bath," we learn about a certain princess's undeniably unusual talents. This is part of the "Kingfisher Treasury" series that includes titles such as Giant and Monster Stories, Pony Stories, Animal Stories, Pirate Stories and Ballet Stories. 2001, Kingfisher,