Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Schultz
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Girl's vivid imagination, kindness enrich all-time classic.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 5 parent reviews
Based on 18 kid reviews
Kids say that the book is beautifully crafted with rich descriptions and strong positive messages, though opinions vary on the main character's development and moral implications, particularly regarding her treatment of others. Many readers appreciate the classic storytelling, vivid imagination, and emotional impact, often recommending it for young readers, while some feel it has themes that may not resonate with older children.
- strong writing
- positive messages
- character development
- emotional impact
- age-appropriate
- timeless story
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
Sara Crewe, a motherless child who has been raised in India by her wealthy, doting father, is enrolled in Miss Minchin's Select Seminary for Girls, a boarding school in London. She is afforded every luxury, and the other students call her \"princess\"; some use the term out of awe and affection, while others are bitterly jealous of her. When Sarah is suddenly left penniless, she is relegated to the life of a servant in a cold, lonely attic room, but her always brilliant imagination becomes her saving grace. Throughout, she remains a magnanimous \"princess,\" who feels best when she is helping others; the wonderful stories she invents, and her kind heart, earn her true friends and eventually lead her to a new home.
Is It Any Good?
A LITTLE PRINCESS is a beautifully crafted novel that celebrates the power of imagination. Sara Crewe is a bright, inventive, and generous young heroine, and female readers will connect with her strongly despite the book's old-fashioned language and setting. In fact, there is something wonderfully compelling about Sarah's attic room, which is transformed from cold blankness to a magical place via Sara's -- and author Frances Hodgson Burnett's -- stories.
The book is almost exclusively populated with girls and women, with the exception of Crewe's briefly seen father and her kind neighbors, so it may not appeal to boys as much as it does to girls. (Boys may enjoy Burnett's The Secret Garden, however, which features great boy characters.)
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what it means for Sara to pretend to be a "princess." Today, young girls think of Disney when they think of princesses, but Sara has some very positive ideas about how a princess should behave.
How does Sara's imagination protect her, and how does she use her creative mind to help others?
What do you think was different about living in the time when A Little Princess takes place? Do you think you would have liked to live in England back then?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Tasha Tudor
- Genre : Literary Fiction
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HarperCollins Children's Books
- Publication date : December 9, 1998
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 9 - 13
- Number of pages : 336
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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