Princess Princess, a feminist and queer fairy tale

Are you looking for a modern gift for a child you know? Bliss editions has the solution with this second book by Katie O'Neil, Princess Princess.

Already author of the Dragon-tea Circle , which was a great success, Katie O'Neil is in charge of the script and drawing. Reading for the youngest is very easy with large boxes, few texts around round shapes. We can believe in a traditional fairy tale by finding obligatory passages: a princess locked in a dungeon, a wicked witch, a prince going on an adventure, an ogre destroying a village. Adults initially see the connection with Rapunzel. However, behind this façade, the author upsets traditions from top to bottom. Indeed, Princess Sadie's screams attract Amira, also a woman of royal blood. Despite their differences, they quickly become friends and lead the fight against a witch together while a prince stuck in a tree refuses to be helped by women. We often smile throughout the pages because expressions of anger or surprise are reminiscent of manga.

The drawing mixes the traditional tale and the fantasy universe like Amira's beige unicorn. Katie O'Neil composes through this book an ode to diversity. Its heroine Sadie is round like her pet dragon. This unlucky princess suffers harassment from the witch whose insults fly everywhere as soon as she leaves the tower. In a parable of the pressure suffered by women, Sadie prefers to remain locked up while Amira has fled a future that is too predictable. Both villains and heroines are victims of their reputation.