"He doesn't seem very impressed," Cimorene commented in some amusement."Why should he be?" Kazul said."Well, you're a dragon," Cimorene answered, a little taken aback."What difference does that make to a cat?"Before Harry Potter, there was Princess Cimorene, a dragon named Kazul, and the Enchanted Forest. I am no longer a 11-year old girl. I am a grown-ass woman, and I still love this book as much as I did the first time I read it.Share this book with your sisters, your daughters, your nieces. This is a wonderful book for a young girl, it sends so many positive messages. You don't have to be what people want you to be. You do not have to fit into the mold. You can be brave, headstrong, smart, without being stubborn, without being mean. There is no romance. There is a Prince Charming who, frankly, bores the living crap out of our intrepid young Princess Cimorene. You do not need a Prince Charming to make your own Happily Ever After. You can be in charge of your own destiny.This book grew with me through my childhood, and it remains with me as an adult. Some books I've read have made me think. Some books have made me cry. There is nothing so complex, so complicated about this little book; it just makes me happy.Summary: Princess Cimorene is a princess of the very pleasant kingdom of Linderwall. It's pretty, it's quite ordinary. There isn't much magic, thankfully, not too many evil stepmothers or witches, not too many dragon abductions, etc.All in all, Linderwall was a very prosperous and pleasant place.Cimorene hated it.Her older sister are all lovely and ladylike, each more beautiful than the last. Cimorene is not. She's too tall. Her hair is frizzy and brown. She's stubborn (on a good day). And she just won't stop learning inappropriate things. Magical lessons. Fencing. Fighting. Latin. All lessons that her disgruntled parents abruptly put a stop to once they find out, cause it just ain't proper for a princess, yo. And her fairy godmother is as useful as brains on a Kardashian.Cimorene puts up with it as best as she can, until the day her parents send her off to visit the very handsome, golden haired, blue-eyed, Ken doll of a Prince. Unfortunately, he's got nothing in between his ears, and when Cimorene finds out that her parents intend to make her MARRY the creature, well, that does it. She takes the advice of a magical frog, packs some useful and practical things, and runs away from home.Unfortunately, or fortunately, as it may be, the audience that the frog sends her to seek happens to be dragons. Very curious ones. Who might want to eat her (but they'd rather not...humans are so stringy). Using her wits, Cimorene talks her way into being a dragon's princess. Kazul is the awesome dragon, who agrees to take her on. Contrary to popular beliefs, not every dragon wants a princess."It has to do with status. Dragons aren't required to have princesses, you see. Most of us don't. There are never enough to go around, and some of us prefer not to have to deal with the annoyances that come with them.""Knights," Cimorene guessed."Among other things," Kazul said, nodding. "So having a princess in residence has become a minor mark of high status among dragons.""A minor mark?"Kazul smiled. "I'm afraid so. It's the equivalent of, oh, serving expensive imported fruit at dinner. It's a nice way of showing everyone how rich you are, but you could make just as big an impression by having some of those fancy pastries with the smooth glazed icing and spun-sugar roses."Fortunately, thanks to her education, she is as well-equipped to cataloguing draconian libraries as well as she is whipping up an excellent dessert (Cimorene specializes in making cherries jubilee).Instead of being princessy and spending her days embroidering and doing stupid shit like that, Cimorene now spends her days cleaning out the dragon treasure troves, cataloguing (and polishing) old dragon treasures (some of them magical!). Along the way, she has to deal with the constant stream of idiotic Knights and Princes who want to rescue her (does anyone bother asking Cimorene if she wants to be rescued? No.), entertaining some other fluffy-headed fellow princesses"I'm Cimorene," Cimorene said. "I don't need comforting, and I'm not particularly sad or sorry to be here, but if you'd like to come in and have some tea, you're welcome to."The first two princesses looked as if they would have liked to be startled and appalled by this announcement but were much too well bred to show what they were feeling....among whom she unexpectedly finds a good friend, and dealing with, among other things, a jinn, a killer bird, a witch with many cats (or more appropriately, cats and their witch), and some wascally wizards. There is magic. There is mystery. There is a potential threat to the dragons for whom Cimorene has come to care deeply.The Setting, the Plot, All That Good Stuff: This is a very short book, and there is not a single dull moment. There is not a lot of introspection, but there is an exceeding display of Cimorene's competency. She is a person of action, and she fills the book with her energy. The book is driven by Cimorene's initiative, and she is always on the move, be it finding a fire-proofing spell in an ancient spellbook, or outwitting some poor Prince Charming's misguided attempt to rescue her, to fooling some nefarious wizards who think she is a typical princess. The setting is magical, but it is not exceedingly detailed, just enough to build up the imagination.The Main Character: Cimorene and her dragon are the stars of this book, and they make me love it. I recommended this book for young readers, and it is just so darned appropriate for an impressionable young woman. She is an awesome main character. She is book-smart, and she is not perfect. She is a librarian at heart, a researcher who relies on her skills in research and her thirst for knowledge rather than outright brilliance. Cimorene is relatable and reliable, smart, witty, absolutely pragmatic and practical without ever becoming bitchy and annoying in the least. And however resourceful Cimorene is, she knows when to call for help when she needs it.Every young girl should have a copy of this book (and this series).

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.Princess Cimorene is tired of embroidery, etiquette, and protocol classes. She wants to take Latin, fencing, magic, and cooking lessons instead. But, that's just "not done." So to avoid a betrothal to a handsome and charming (but not particularly bright) prince, she runs away to become housekeeper for a dragon. As a dragon's princess, Cimorene gets the freedom to cook and clean and to organize libraries and treasure rooms. She also has to fend off persistent knights who come to rescue her, and investigate the actions of a couple of sneaky wizards.Patricia C. Wrede's Dealing with Dragons is a refreshing change from some of the more recent fantasy epics aimed at teenage girls. It's light, fun, and often hilarious as it pokes fun at several fairy tales and fantasy clichés. The plot moves rapidly and the writing is clear and precise. The dialogue is particularly good.I listened to Dealing With Dragons on audiobook. Listening Library does an excellent job recording this with a full cast of actors; I highly recommend this format. Read more Patricia Wrede book reviews at Fantasy literature.

I found this book at the library and I was so excited because I read it a couple of times when I was younger, in 4th or 5th grade I think. So it's a kid's book but it is so much fun. Great fantasy and tons of humor. You can't help but laugh, at least I couldn't! Funny story related to this book. Back when I first read this, when I was younger, like I said, I had a friend my age who also read it. Well, she and I happened to have some little plastic toy dragons and wizards and we'd use them to act out this book. We gave them all the right names and our biggest dragon was Kazul. I believe we had to improvise on the princesses... we might have used a Barbie doll for Cimorene... but it was such a kick. Great book! I'll have to try and track down the rest of the series!

This is a childhood favourite that was desperately in need of a reread. Although I remembered loving it as a child, I couldn't remember much besides the bare bones of the plot and that Cimorene was the coolest princess of all time. Having reread the book, I can confirm that Cimorene remains the coolest princess of all time. Wrede writes a subversive, funny fantasy romp that turns fairy tale tropes on their head in brilliant ways sure to delight any little girl sick of reading about the princess being saved. A princess who saves herself with intelligence, humour, and not a little bit of elbow grease is still something missing from so much fantasy. I'm looking forward to rereading the rest of the series and reacquainting myself with one of my childhood hero(ine)s.

This is the first book of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. My daughter read them when she was at the point where reading changes from being work to being fun. So it was one of the first "serious" books (> 100 pages and no pictures) that she read on her own for pleasure. First my wife read the series aloud to her. Then she read them all to herself. Then she read this book out loud to me.The story is told from the point of view of Princess Cimorene. She's a curious, intelligent girl who hates the stereotyped role she's expected to play as a princess---she has to learn to needlepoint and dance, but isn't allowed to cook or fence or learn magic. Finally, she runs away and winds up getting captured by a dragon, Kazul. Unlike other captured princesses, who lament their situation and wait to be rescued by young knights they can then marry, Cimorene befriends her dragon and refuses to be rescued. The plot thickens when some oily wizards show up...The character of Cimorene is engaging. She is spunky and has a sarcastic wit that makes my daughter laugh. I liked her almost from page one and was quickly sucked into the story. The plot has some interesting twists, but there is never a sense of real peril. From the beginning it's pretty clear who's good and who's bad, and that it will all work out in the end. These characteristics all appeal to my (then) 8 year old daughter. She also loves the humor and has adopted a similar style in some of her creative writing projects.The writing is clearly targeted at younger (pre-teen) readers, but this is a fun story that many older readers will enjoy, too.