| Title | : | Blancaflor: La princesse aux pouvoirs secrets |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 2810203679 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9782810203673 |
| Language | : | French |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 54 |
| Publication | : | First published September 14, 2021 |
Blancaflor: La princesse aux pouvoirs secrets Reviews
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Blancaflor is a timeless folktale that everyone would benefit from reading. Blancaflor possesses many powerful magical powers. Blancaflor's father, a hungry ogre who eats others for fun, continually tells her to hide her powers so that she may attract a husband. When a perfect suitor comes along, Blancaflor hides her powers while also using them to save him from her father.
When has a father telling his daughter to hide her powerful magic ever worked out? I loved this story for the sheer fact that Blancaflor is the heroine of this story is magic. Little girls need this type of story in their lives today. This was a new folktale to me and I loved it's twists and turns. It is a great supplement to anyone studying or interested in Latin American history. The tale is told simply and the illustrations are vivid. Definitely recommend!
Find it today:
https://ent.sharelibraries.info/clien...
Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL -
I would have LOVED this as a kid. The supplementary material makes me LOVE this as a kid-lit professional. Highly recommended.
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The message in this was terrible. I really though it was satire, or going to turn a corner, but nope. The princess married the stupid beautiful prince bc he was beautiful 🙃
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I can’t think of a folklore or fairytale like this Latin American one in the United States culture, but apparently it appears in many other cultures.
Blancaflora seems like a sensible young woman but she still is smitten with the prince, who is an absolutely clueless airhead. I suppose he came around in the end. But the story does a nice job of focusing on Blancaflora.
The illustrations are fun and a beautiful way to tell this story. -
This was a new story to me, and I very much enjoyed it, but even more so I was enthralled with the forward and back matter putting it into context. Fairy tales have always fascinated me!
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15/20 -
https://www.leslecturesdemylene.com/2... -
Good story with comic artwork.
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I should have a fairy tales shelf on Goodreads, but I don’t. And actually, I don’t really read many fairy tales. I love the way Blancaflor is framed and explained before and after the exciting storytelling and beautiful art.
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Warning this review may contain spoilers
This book was cute. A girl named Blancaflor lives in a castle with her two sisters, her witch mom, and her ogre dad. The prince was in the paper and all three sisters wanted to marry the prince. The ogre told his daughters that the prince will be coming over to play a game that nobody can win called The Ogre's Three. The ogre made the prince lucky in previous horse racing games so he wanted to bring the prince to his castle to play the unwinnable game. If the prince succeeds he gets to marry one of the ogre's daughters, but if he fails the ogre will eat him, but the prince doesn't know that. So the prince goes to do the ogre's first task, he must make the mountains and the lake swap places. Luckily Blancaflor is there because she knows the prince can not do the task so she does it for him while the prince reads a book on how to move mountains(oops forgot to say she has powers). Blancaflor's dad is suspicious. The prince's second task is to turn a mountain of rocks into a loaf of bread. The prince knocks himself out with a rock so while he is knocked out Blancaflor makes the rocks a loaf of bread. The prince smells the bread and thinks the bread made itself. The ogre is even more suspicious. The prince's third and final task is to get the ogre's mothers' ring that is at the bottom of the ocean. so the prince can not swim, but he thinks he can, but before he can get in the water Blancaflor stops him and tells him to play her grandma's favorite song and the ring will come to him. He played the song and while he did Blancaflor went and got the ring from the bottom of the ocean. She came back up and the ring was in the prince's hand. The ogre was very mad that the prince won the unwinnable game. Blancaflor got sent to her room and the prince got sent home. The prince went to Blancaflor's window and she told him that her dad was going to kill them both. So Blancaflor told the prince to go get the old horse, but he grabs the wrong horse. While the prince got the horse Blancaflor got her magic comb, mirror, and soap. Then the prince came back and off they went. Her dad and mom found out so they took the old horse and chased after Blancaflor and the prince. Blancaflor throws her soap to make mountains, her mirror to make a lake, and her comb to make a forest and the prince thought it was all luck. They got away from Blancaflor's parents, but then her mom cast a spell on the prince. They arrive at the prince's castle and the prince's parents greet them. The prince saw another lady and forgot all about Blancaflor because of her mom's spell. The prince then picks his wife by random and its an old lady it looks like. The king said to pick a gift for the wedding and Blancaflor said the Sword of Pain and the Stone of Power. She asks the stone if it was not her who did everything for the prince and the stone says, "Yes, but you should have told him." The prince was listening and he remembered her. So they got married and lived happily ever after. -
Blancaflor, like many of us, has an ogre of a father, a more understanding witchy mother, and annoying siblings. And she’s bored with life. A handsome prince shows up after her father plans to entrap him in an unwinnable game, “The Ogre’s Three” / “Las tres del ogro.” Blancaflor enthusiastically, and secretly, helps him escape. The prince, who is hapless and completely ignorant of all the ways she helps him defeat the ogre’s traps, thinks it is he who manages the escape. Folktale fans will recognize Blancaflor’s tools – special powers, plus soap, a mirror and a comb. All along, the reader will feel the frustration that Blancaflor has suppressed, which is that all of her labor and forethought goes unrecognized by her beloved. Finally, when she has given up on the prince ever returning her love or seeing her for the amazing person that she is, she decides to do away with herself in a dramatic gesture of plunging a knife into her breast. It is then that the prince realizes her feats, and they are married.
The story hovers on the edge of just too much self-centered male junk, but astute readers will recognize a person in love who is willing to give their all, and is finally ‘seen’ by the end. I like the commentary which contextualizes the concept of women’s invisible labor, and gives background on the tale. The art is gorgeous! From the Aztec and Maya pictograms on the opening pages to the wonderful graphic art anchored in blue and brown, with Blancaflor in orange, this is a visually beautiful tale. The text and art work wonderfully together to tell an ancient tale with relatable sensibilities. And some of the spreads are full of such wonderful details.
The Spanish edition is a faithful and spirited version. -
It's wonderful to find a folktale with a strong female protagonist at its heart. In this one, told in a graphic novel format, Blancaflor isn't like her two sisters who dream of marrying a handsome prince and appealing to him with their fashion sense or sweet, docile personalities. When a prince arrives to play the Ogre's Three with the girls' father, an ogre who plans to trick the young man, Blancaflor hides her magical talents and assists him with the three tasks her father sets before the prince. The prince at first has no idea that he owes his life to Blancaflor; instead, he thinks he's lucky. Even though he plans to marry her, he still has her mother's curse to get through, and for awhile it looks as though the prince has completely forgotten her. Once he remembers, he still considers himself the luckiest man in the world since his bride is so extraordinary. The colorful panels and the personality of Blancaflor makes this one well worth reading and thinking about. I for one am always delighted to read stories in which females do the rescuing rather than waiting for someone to rescue them.
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The combination of art and story is superb.
The context of the folktale is shared at the beginning and more context at the end of the graphic folktale in which Blancaflor who has an ogre for a father trying to trick a prince and instead wins his heart with her helpfulness, cunning, and skill. Ultimately, it details you can find a story like Blancaflor in most Native, Maya, and other cultures as well-- one in which women are an 'invisible' force to be reckoned with since their work often goes unnoticed. Yet, they are powerful and strong and demonstrate that.
In addition, which you can even see on the cover, the oversized lengthy features of the characters, the setting, and magical creativity in the illustrations are beautiful just to look at independent of the story though clearly work hand-in-hand too. -
An intriguing look at the way women's work is invisible. Blancaflor basically rescues this lucky-turned-unlucky prince over and over again. Prince does not see her rescuing him, and just continues to think himself incredibly lucky, until he is hit with a curse that cause him to completely forget Blancaflor. After some dramatics, Prince is informed of Blancaflor's actions and things turn out right, but it truly is an interesting combination of folktale, fable, adventure story, with just a pinch of romance, and then a big whammy of hey, this is what invisible work looks like.
Backmatter is lovely. -
A family of ogres enjoys torturing the nearby humans by giving them abilities, taking them away, and then eating them for supper. It's a time-honored tradition that's about to happen again with a young prince who thinks he's unstoppably lucky. When one of the ogre's daughters gets sick of her father's boasts and takes a shining to the prince, she's going to use ever power she has to save him. There's only one problem: Just like many other women, the prince doesn't even notice her help! It's a great, layered story with echoes in other traditions, adapted with long, flowing lines by Garcia Sanchez and bright colors by his spouse Moral.
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'Blancaflor, the Hero with Secret Powers: A Folktale from Latin America' by Nadja Spiegelman with art by Sergio Garcia Sanchez is a graphic novel of a classic fairytale from Latin America.
Blancaflor has an ogre for a dad, so when a handsome prince challenges him, Blancaflor knows that her dad won't fight fair. The prince claims he has luck, but he is just lucky that he met Blancaflor.
Blancaflor's magic objects are the objects of women's work in indigenous cultures. I loved reading about her and the art is really fun. Recommended for young readers and older ones who still like fairytales (like me). -
I was looking for ghost stories for kids from various cultures and this middle grades version of a well-known fairy tale (and not a ghost story) invited me to pick it up because of its swirling cover. Sure, she marries the prince, okay, but as author Nadja Spiegelman explains, she begins the story from the girl's perspective and reveals she is powerful, with multiple powers. And contemporary dialogue and sensibilities. The attractions here are turning the focus to Blanaflor, the afterwords from the author and F. Isabel Campy, and a bibliography for further reading, but especially the swirling fantasy artwork from Sergio Garcia Sanchez. That was the highlight for me.
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I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
I enjoyed this story as it focus on the spanish culture and folk tales, however I think it would be best if the story had a bit more dialogue or maybe a narrator. I just think that it was everything too fast. For a children book, I think it would be perfect, because it is not too long and it's a great story to read before bed time.
I am quite impressed with the illustrations, because they are very delicate and the colours are soft, but expressive. -
Graphic novel folk/fairy tale for ages 8-12, this could be read to/by a younger child. It took me 20 minutes to read the whole thing, including the introduction, author's note, etc. There is interesting information at the beginning and the end about tales, and the cultures that mixed to produce this one. I really got a kick out of the "personality" of the story, and illustrations (which include some cool Maya and Aztec pictograms in the intro). The story itself is a girl-power tale with a happy ending. I really enjoyed the whole experience.
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J'ai beaucoup aimé cette bande-dessinée, pour son graphisme d'abord, pour son histoire racontée avec humour ensuite, et enfin pour sa préface et sa postface qui permettent d'en apprendre plus sur les origines sud-américaines de ce conte et sur la vision féministe de l'autrice.
La conclusion de Nadja Spiegelmann me laisse cependant dubitative. A la fin, Blancaflor réussit-elle vraiment à échapper au patriarcat ? Certes, elle a fui son père, mais c'est pour finir par épouser le prince idiot... bon, au moins il est charmant ! 😭 -
Thanks to Edelweiss+ for an advanced copy. I think the concept of the story is interesting. I don't read a lot of fairytales/folktales from Latin America, so it was a plus in that regard. We honestly need more Latin America fairytales/folktales in mainstream media in the states. However, I think I would have preferred the story as a picture book or middle grade. The format was the catching thing for me.
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A fun updated, graphic version of a classic folktale. This is a step up from Disney's sanitized versions of stories, as Blancflor is shown preparing to commit suicide, so it could be a bit much for some younger readers. Of course, all's well that ends well, with Blancaflor shown as a strong woman who is well-appreciated by her prince. I loved that Spiegelman included extensive background material but it's not essential for readers' enjoyment of the tale.
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Sadly, this book has a lot going for it, with gorgeous illustrations and paneling, lots of visual and textual humor that is actually amusing, and a sweet , adventurous story. Unfortunately I was pulled out of the story by the inclusion of the "eeny-meeny" rhyme which I know has racist roots. I'd be concerned about handing this to a kiddo who might know about that rhyme or might repeat the rhyme unknowingly.
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Is using your powers showing off? If so, should you tell the Prince when you help him or not?
She and her sisters start lusting after the Prince from his picture. Not sure he ever does anything to make them like him (although sharing his food on the way there is good; the girls don't see that, though).
He reminds me of the dumb prince in Blackadder, actually, although once he learns that she helped him he does decide to marry her. -
Blancaflor is admonished at every turn not to be a show off with her superhero powers. When the hapless prince shows up at her castle to complete the ogre’s challenge she helps him behind the scenes. Love the graphic novel format and especially love the explanation of the folk tale’s origins, an essential for me. Love the girl power background to the tale.
