{Review} Beautiful Wild Rose Girl by B. Magnolia

ISBN #: 978-0985428907

Page Count: 34

Copyright: April 23, 2012

Publisher: Mystic World Press

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

This illustrated children's story, appropriate for ages 7 and up, has been awarded the prestigious Seal of Approval by Children's Literary Classics.

If everyone in the village calls her Beautiful Wild Rose Girl, why does this poor, sad girl live in a Swamp? And why, when she goes to bed every night, does she hear Bullfrogs singing to her: Trooonk! Trooonk! Trooonk! What A Stupid Ugly Girl!

This is a story about learning to see yourself as the beautiful person you really are. And how sometimes, to break a terrible spell, you need love, the understanding of a pure-hearted shepherd, and the help of a Very Mysterious Moth.

Mandy's Review:

Beautiful Wild Rose Girl is the first official release from Mystic World Press, a new independent children's book publisher based in San Francisco. If all of their releases are as wonderful as this one, they are well on their way to becoming a very successful business.

The main character is a young girl who lives in a swamp. Every day, she ventures through a field of wild roses to get to the village. On her way through the field, she gathers one basketful of roses to sell in the village's market. Once she sells her last rose of the day, she returns to the swamp. This is her daily life.

The men of the village find her very beautiful and desire to marry her. So they attempt to win her affections by calling her 'Beautiful Wild Rose Girl,' but she hears something very different and doesn't respond to any of them. One poor shepherd boy, though, falls in love with her and is determined to meet her and marry her.

What I love about this story is that, if you look beyond the basic fairy tale elements, this book is about self-esteem. The girl was beautiful but she thought herself ugly because she lived in a swamp all alone. The way she thought about herself tainted what she heard from others. It took the love of someone patient enough to bring her out of her shell and prove to her that she wasn't ugly at all, inside or out.

Whereas classic fairy tales have a dark, disturbing edge to them, this fairy tale is poignant and beautiful. This is the perfect fairy tale, with its wonderful hand-drawn illustrations, to read to a little girl at night before bed.


**Side Note: There are also handmade versions of this book available. The publisher (Mystic World Press) was gracious enough to send me one of the smaller and one of the larger handmade versions, along with the one sold on Amazon (pictured at the top). A picture of the larger handmade book is shown below.