Kirkus Reviews

The well-known actress/author and her daughter collaborate to create an eminently practical yet ebullient heroine. With delightful insouciance, young Geraldine assures readers that she knows without a doubt that she is a fairy princess. Much like a seasoned court lawyer providing expert testimony, Geraldine submits her evidence to convince the skeptics. From dawn to dusk, she takes readers through her day, highlighting the multitude of moments that reveal her inner royal sprite. Davenier's whimsical ink-andcolored-pencil illustrations enchant. Bedecked in a tiara and adorned in pink as she strides confidently along, Gerry exudes an undeniable joie de vivre. The mother-daughter team successfully demonstrates an understanding of that magical stage of childhood in which determination, desire and dreams can transform reality. Fellow princess-obsessed readers will easily recognize a kindred spirit; those whose thinking is more in line with Gerry's brother Stewart will see the pink sparkles on the cover and stay away. (Picture book. 3-7)

School Library Journal (Sat May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

PreS-Gr 1 As any library staff member will tell you, there can never be too many princess stories. While this collaboration between Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Hamilton, does not stand out as anything particularly different, it does have enough sparkle to keep young readers interested. Geraldine leads a rather ordinary life, and each page highlights a part of her mundane day. However, in the grand tradition of other literary, bedazzled mini-divas, Geraldine's imagination and love for the color pink brighten the daily grind of being a scab-kneed little girl. Readers will enjoy Geraldine's princess attitude and the vibrant fantasy brought to life through Davenier's ink and colored pencil illustrations. However, for girly girl stories with a bit more attitude, stick with reigning princesses Eloise, Fancy Nancy, and Olivia. Sarah Townsend, Norfolk Public Library, VA

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Geraldine, this book's redheaded heroine, may look like an ordinary girl, but she harbors no doubts about her magical royal status: “I FEEL it inside—a sparkling feeling of just KNOWING in my heart.” With great powers, however, come great responsibilities. A fairy princess must always wear her crown (“You never know who you might bump into... even on the stairs), shore up her mere mortal friends (“YOU sparkle when you play the trombone,” she tells one), and always be on the lookout for problems to solve, like an escaped classroom hamster. Andrews and Hamilton's narrative voice, a mixture of self-assured proclamations and parenthetical confidences, is fun, and for every reference to glitter, tutus, and sparkle, there are examples of the heroine's rough-and-tumble side (sliding down a banister or pursuing a frog across a stream). Davenier's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Just Like a Baby) luminous and empathic watercolors act like fairy wings on this story. Even though the pictures are predominantly pink, there's nothing pale about Davenier's characterization; Geraldine radiates noblesse oblige, heedless energy, and a sense of destiny—she's Eloise crossed with Hillary Clinton. Ages 3–6. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(May)

ALA Booklist (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

A girl who believes she is really a princess isn't a new premise in children's literature, so it's refreshing to find a very real little girl as our protagonist, especially given a title that evokes an expectation of a more traditionally froufrou young royal. Geraldine (Gerry) just knows she is a princess and narrates the events of her day, offering commentary about her many doubters: "My brother, Stewart, says princesses don't wear sneakers and don't have scabby knees." Gerry's type of princess isn't too precious; in response to her brother, she asserts, "Fairy princesses are very practical." A long day passes eakfast, school, playtime, and dinner fore the one person who never doubts her comes home: Daddy. Freckled, spiky haired, pink clad, and irrepressible, Geraldine is reminiscent of Eloise. She lets kids know it's not necessary to be prim and proper to be a "real" princess; princesses who just want to have fun will find plenty of that here.

Horn Book (Sun Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

A modern-day girl explains what it's like to be a "fairy princess." With its self-regarding narrator and edifying parentheticals ("Fairy princesses are very practical...Fairy princesses are very supportive"), this moderately entertaining book owes a conspicuous debt to Fancy Nancy. Happily, Davenier is at her best, giving the pink-bedecked girl relatable real-world attributes such as unkempt hair and unroyal posture.