Review: Emberly - The Impossible Princess
This site is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. (Likewise, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Thanks.
____
I think it’s really important to let everyone know how I come up with books to review. Most of them I find on my own and read immediately or pass them along to the review team list so they can have the opportunity to choose it. I still get a lot of authors who contact me for reviews, though and if I think their book would be a good fit for readers I’ll place it on the list and not tell the reviewers I had any contact with the author so I don’t sway their review. (I try to remember which books those are so I can disclose that as well.)
Because I have a review team, a short attention span, and not a lot of free time, I normally say no when I’m asked to review a book. This one caught my eye, probably because I have a soft spot for kids books and because it looked well-made. I even allowed the author to send me a copy, which is another thing I don’t usually do. (Mostly because I can’t promise I’ll finish your book even if it’s great.)
Fast forward over two months (I’m a terrible procrastinator) and I finally sat down to read this book. The first two pages didn’t really draw me in. There was a lot of information in a short amount of time and I felt like I’d missed the prequel. This was obviously not your average picture book. So I closed the book, waited until I could give it more of my attention and that evening I read the story from start to finish. My thoughts are below and they’re specific for the Kindle version. But first, the book’s description.
Book Description
Unlike other fairy tales, this princess story is actually real! And your daughter is the main character!
Imagine reading a "Cinderella-like" fairy tale to your daughter - one that deeply resonates with her strongest hurts and desires. Oh, how she wishes she could be the princess in the story! But at the end she discovers that, unlike other fairy tales, this princess story is actually real and she is the main character.Your daughter doesn't have to pretend to be the princess, she is the princess! And instead of daydreaming an impossible fantasy, she can daydream of a future that will actually happen!
I believe fairy tales and princess stories resonate with us because of their similarity to the gospel. In these stories, however, the fictional "Prince Charming" takes the place of Jesus. Consequently, we are taught at a young age that the longing we feel in our hearts is for a human soulmate, when the longing is actually for the eternity we will spend in heaven with Jesus. This message is everywhere - from every form of media. Is it any wonder we grow up looking for a romantic relationship to be our savior?
But what if there was a princess tale that told the true love story between Jesus and us? Not only would Christian parents have a deeply resonating "fairy tale" they could feel safe allowing their daughters to read, it would fundamentally change how their daughters view all other princess stories they hear. "Prince Charming" would no longer be seen as a person for them to wait for, but as a metaphor for Jesus Christ. Instead of our daughters growing up seeking a man to fill the God-shaped hole in their hearts, Jesus would be the Savior their hearts seek.
It is amazing how well a story like Cinderella could be made to parallel the entire gospel! Kids may not understand all the countless parallels, but through the story they would become intimately familiar with the foundational concepts of Christianity. This would be invaluable as they seek to grow in their faith later on in life, and it would help them avoid many of the common pitfalls into which Christians stumble.
Most importantly, such a story would create an almost effortless way for us to teach our kids the gospel and actually lead them to give their lives to Jesus. Parents could read it to their children at bedtime, and churches could use it as a powerful evangelism tool in their children's ministries.
Emberly - The Impossible Princess is that story!
My Thoughts
This book reads like a fairy tale. If you’re familiar with the fairy tales of old, they’re short, punchy, and a little more on the “telling” side than the “showing” side, so the writing was consistent with a good fairy tale.
I was able to see the symbolism right away but the average child would need it explained, which I was happy to see the author had done very nicely at the end. The book isn’t denomination specific and would appeal to most mainstream Christians. However, there was magic in the story and some may find that off putting.
The story is very sweet and won’t bore children or parents at bedtime. The illustrations were top-notch and I was glad the prince had darker skin. He was supposed to be representing Christ in the story so I thought it was appropriate.
I read the Kindle version and each page functioned as a picture, rather than text where the font size could be changed. This made reading a little difficult for me on my 10” Kindle Fire and I don’t think I could have read it on anything smaller without zooming in each picture and pushing it left and right to see the words. There are ways now that this problem can be addressed but it made me feel like this book wasn’t primarily targeting Kindle readers. I would imagine the paperback would be worth it, though.
According to the website the book can be customized with your child’s name so they’re the main character in the story. I think that would have been neat when my daughter was younger since she has an uncommon name.
Emberly is a story with a strong Christian theme. It’s well written and edited and is very nicely illustrated. The Kindle version is cute but I have a feeling that this book would really shine as a paperback or hardcover.
You can purchase this book at the following links:
