Even before Meg Cabot’s book The Princess Diaries was available to read, Disney had purchased the rights to make a film adaptation out of it.
I’m guessing that they saw something they liked.
The book and the filmed version have many similarities, but many differences too. In the book, Mia lives in New York, her father (The Prince of Genovia) is alive, her mother is an artist who ends up dating her Algebra teacher, and her grandmother (the Dowager Princess of Genovia) is a selfish, mean sort of person. In the film, Mia lives in San Francisco, her father (the King of Genovia) is dead, her mother is an artist who ends up dating her speech and debate teacher, and her grandmother (The Queen of Genovia) is the lovely, thoughtful Julie Andrews. In both cases, Mia had no idea that she was royal until she was told.
Really, it ends up feeling like the book and the film are two versions of a similar story. I liked both. The second film, The Princess Diaries 2, is more of a continuation of the first film than an adaptation of a further book. I enjoyed that one too. Maybe it’s just my whole princess fixation. Who knows?
Have you read the books or seen the films? What did you think?
Have you ever wished, even just for a minute, that you could be someone else, anyone else but you? Julie Markes’ delightfully funny book, Good Thing You’re Not an Octopus!, has a valuable lesson to communicate about self-acceptance. Maggie Smith’s corresondingly humorous drawings illustrate the different problems you might encounter if you were say…an octopus or a caterpillar. It’s great for kids or anyone really who has a tendancy to think the grass is always greener. “You don’t like to eat your lunch? It’s a good thing you’re not a bird,” quips the text, while the illustrations show a little boy hiding from his spaghetti. Flip the page and find out why. “If you were a bird, you would have to eat worms for lunch!” Talk about learning to count your blessings–
Otis is a happy dog. He goes for walks with Lucy, plays with his friend Max, chases the neighborhood cat, and eats treats by the basketful — okay, maybe not so many treats — but the point is, life is good. Otis is happy. At least until, as he’s walking home one afternoon, some big bully dog pushes into him and calls him big ears. Big ears? Now Otis does have big ears; but is that really such a bad thing? Otis has never really thought about it before, but now he thinks that, yeah, maybe it is. Will Otis ever feel good about himself again? With Dog Eared, Amanda Harvey has given us a lovely and gently humorous reminder that what others say about us really doesn’t matter, it’s how we feel about ourselves, on the inside, that makes all the difference in the world. 
