In the land of Couscous, wisdom is not valued, whereas beauty is lauded. This proves to be a problem for the two protagonists of Margaret Gray's children's fantasy The Ugly Princess and the Wise Fool. Because wisdom is outlawed in the kingdom, Jasper, the youngest wise man in the land, is forced to become the king's fool. Princess Rose, meanwhile, is born terribly ugly, greatly disappointing the King and the Queen and the rest of the kingdom. The clever and friendly Princess Rose, however, grows up contented with her life as she enjoys the company of her friend Jasper. Things change, though, when the handsome Prince Parsley arrives searching for a bride. Overwhelmed by the kingdom's expectations, Rose wishes for beauty in order to impress the Prince. She does impress him, but she is not so impressed with him. In an attempt reverse the spell and regain her true form and escape marriage to the horrible Prince Parsley, Rose and Jasper must go through a test and a short quest to demonstrate that she wants to reverse the spell for the right reasons. Ultimately, they learn some things about themselves and their own relationship, and they find a way to bring some wisdom back to the kingdom.
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The review of this Book prepared by J.C. Pierce
