THE PAPER PRINCESS FINDS HER WAY
Dutton, 1993
A paper princess once lived happily with the little girl who made her. But now the girl has grown up and left the princess under a paperweight. It's safe there, but the paper princess longs to grow and change, too. The princess must choose: safety or unknown adventure?
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“Kleven’s sequel to The Paper Princess (Dutton, 1994) is every bit as charming as the original...as in the first book, the mixed-media, folklike illustrations (paint, paper and fabric collage, ink, etc.) are gloriously colored and filled with tiny details. The simple story will delight young children, who also find adventure and pleasure in the simplest things. “I’ve traveled so far,” says the princess, “and I’ve changed again and again.”
--School Library Journal
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“Kleven takes a paper doll introduced in The Paper Princess through further adventures and changes. When her young maker grows past the point of being able to hear her, a kindly dog carries the faded princess outside. Off she’s carried by the wind, to hazardous encounters with a cat and a toddler, to a brief stay with a shelf of store-bought toys who are awed by her ability to “fly” without batteries, and to the top of a Christmas tree. Later she flutters along with zillions of monarch butterflies to a distant, warm country where a new child gives her fresh layers of love and clothing. The princess faces each up and down with open arms and a subtly changing smile, to go along with her welcoming spirit. Younger readers will gladly go along on her odyssey, and thoughtful older ones may glimpse the metaphorical journey underlying it.”
-- Kirkus
“Kleven knows exactly what kids like: a book where things happen! Every page is alive with collaged detail, a real miniature world...The writing is eloquent without being pretentious, and when you read it aloud your own voice will quaver with the abundant joy that permeates the narrative. Besides being full of little, lovely truths (“It’s a hard word for small, fragile things”), there is a larger, hopeful message that change is always possible, and it is a message that is sure to help a new generation find their way to happiness. (5 and up) Attention, science teachers: use this book in combination with Gotta Go, Gotta Go by Sam Swope and Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi for a very nice literature-based introduction to winged migration. (5 and up)”
-- Planetesme Best Picture Books of 2003