The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom audiobook

For some reason, the cover of this book didn't immediately grab me. And the premise seemed a little too "wink wink nudge nudge see what I did there." But after having so many friends recommend this book, I just had to try it.LAUGHED SO HARD.This is an absolutely hilarious look at what life is like for "Prince Charming." Does he have a name? Is he the same guy who saved Rapunzel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White? (The answers: yes, and no!) The princes were instantly endearing, and their personality clashes and various backstories and mishaps were both humorous and heartfelt. I just adored this book so much! It was so cute (without being saccharine) that I just want to EAT IT! I am so excited to give this to my 8 year old, he will LOVE it!

What can I say about this novel that will properly convey to you how much I enjoyed it? I love fairy tales; they rock my world. I’ve studied them, wrote academic papers on them, retold them in my own words and so on. I find them to be fantastically illuminating on the goals of a patriarchal society and I find that fairy tales are often reflective on the needs of the society they are most famous in.The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is in particular very revealing of the shifting and evolving gender expressions so prevalent in contemporary society. Some would argue that gender itself is a social construct and that may be true if one considers that children often assimilate culture and gender behavior from fairy tales and/or other tales fed to them in their formative years. However, since everything is in flux at the moment and traditional norms are being challenged and overturned, Christopher Healy’s novel is both pertinent and entertaining. Gone are the days when Prince Charmings were satisfied being nameless beings of perfection. Now they demand to be seen for who they are rather than what they represent. Healy presents his princes as being less heroic and more real. Some are quite less than charming and some would not recognize bravery if it came and quacked at them.What I appreciated about Healy’s characterizations was that they were dynamic. The characters grow and change and Healy does not promote the princes in favor of demonizing the princesses. There are brave princesses, good ones and even a bad one. The plotting remains awesome and there’s a skein of absurdity in the whole narrative that reminds the reader not to take anything seriously. This makes the novel accessible for both adults and children. Children will be immensely entertained by Tod Harris’s illustrations and tickled by the escapades of the princes while adults will appreciate the deeper and darker humour in the novel.The various romances in the novel are also intriguing, showing that the matters of the heart are rarely as simple as love at first sight or kiss. I look forward to seeing how things play out in the sequel that I have been told is going to be released next spring or summer. If you love fairy tales, I suggest checking this out. It has all the elements of a wonderful book that should become a staple of childhood reads.

Hilarious book, just hilarious! Listened to this on a road trip to Wisconsin to visit the wife's 96 year old great aunt. Had never heard of it and was not looking forward to it, so I was surprised at how many times I actually laughed aloud, and loudly! This book is directed to tweens, which the car was actually carrying, but I actually think some of the humor--as in much of the best of humor for kids--is directed at the adults Healy is hoping are reading along with their kids. One indication of it is that I think I and the wife actually laughed more than they did. That kind of humor. I actually laughed so hard a couple of times that I cried, and this was never the case for the kids, though they all said they loved it.So the title of the book is clearly a tween title, generic. And it has all these various Prince Charmings and princesses in it, so that feels kind of generic, right? But it's a contemporary feel. Think: The True Story of the Three Little Pigs--told from the perspective of the wolf, applied to the familiar fantasy world. The idea here is, step 1) Make fun of almost every one of the prince charmings, and reveal they all have "issues,"--anger management, memory, sufficient testosterone to truly be a hero, and so on--and make it clear that the bards who have told tales about them completely romanticized them. The princes are really, really imperfect, and hilariously so, but then, reverse course and 2) explore the idea of heroism through their ordinariness. They are like us, yes. And then, once we have broken them all down to our size, make it an actual adventure where they actually have to work with and help each other, through the League of Princes (yes, like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). So then the goofballs and schlubs actually become somewhat admirable and yes, even charming. So it's a bit of a pomo/feminist/Rob Reiner critique, and believe me the Ellas and Snow Whites and the other princesses take their hits in this one, too, though it is really more about men as idiots.Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, in case you were wondering. And they have to battle trolls (all named Troll, and not too bright), and other monsters and witches. I do not think I would have quite given this five stars had it not been for the pitch perfect reading of Branson Pinchot, who gets all the accents down: Scottish, Irish, English, French, California surfer dude (who is Prince Duncan, who comes up with idea of writing this tale to correct the bards's renditions), Troll, witch, and so on. Pinchot really nails it. But so does Healy, in his first book??! So good.

Looney Tunes meets the League of Princes Charming (and that isn't a typo). This book reminded me of the cartoons I grew up with the slapstick characters, distinct voices, and nonstop gags. This fractured fairy tale begins with a bang painting the character of Prince Frederic as pompous and fearful along with his girlfriend, Ella (Cinderella), who is spirited and wants adventure. The two argue about how to spend their afternoon. Frederic wants tea and Ella wants adventure; in particular, she wants to find Pennyfeather, the bard of their kingdom who has gone missing. When Ella realizes Frederic won't go with her, she decides to find the inspiring Rapunzel as a potential adventure partner because Rapunzel freed herself from the witch and saved her prince. Ella toodle-oo's and leaves Frederic a note that explains her plans. Frederic takes off after her and meets the other prince charmings all with hangups and quirks that are quite funny."Whuddawedonow?" "Huh?" Gustav grunted, as he and Liam clipped along through the woods, all but dragging Frederic behind them. Duncan, free of the chains, was plodding by himself several years back. "Whawadoo, whuwedow?" the out-breath Frederic tried again. He sounded like an asthmatic cat trapped inside an accordion.The four Prince Charmings from Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty have joined forces to rescue Cinderella who's been captured by a witch. Gustav, of Rapunzel, is a Viking-type brute who cares little for others feelings but is loyal and never backs down in a fight. Duncan, of Snow White's story, is an odd duck who believes he has magical powers and it makes him brave or foolish depending on how you look at it. Oh, and he chatters like a chipmunk."Gustav, hold up..." Liam said ...I think our companions could use a break." "I'm good," Duncan said cheerily as he jogged to catch up to the others. "The mud is a little hard on my felt boots but it makes a pleasant squishy noise when I step. It reminds me of the bog walks that Snow and I take sometimes. A bog might not sound like the kind of place you want to spend a lot of time in - and the smell would back up the assumption-but when it comes to examining mosses-""Pipe down, Nature boy," Gustav interrupted. "The Wheezing Wonder here is trying to say something.: Frederic had collapsed facedown in a pile of fallen leaves. He lifted his head and spit out a pinecone, "What do we do now?" he sighed."First order of business, we get rid of these chains," Liam said.Liam (from Sleeping Beauty) is the planner and actually has had heroic exploits. His ego and pride get in the way at times and he thinks if he works alone he would be better off. The four learn that working together not only makes them stronger but they become friends that learn to appreciate the oddities in each other.This meta-fiction has terrific writing with jokes galore and jabs at language that will make you laugh. The dwarfs insist on spelling "dwarves" because if "wolf" becomes "wolves" and "half" becomes "halves" then they should be "dwarves" not "dwarfs". They warred when the elves bragged that they got to pluralize with a "v". The nonstop humor is for kids and adults alike. There are also a ton of references to classics and comedies such as Frederic's horse is named, Gwendolyn, the same name as Cinderella's fairy godmother, and there's a squirrel named, Captain Spaulding, after Groucho Marx. There are probably a bunch more - I can only recall those two off the top of my head.We don't know what happens with Snow and Liam and some of the Prince Charmings seem to be interested in other princesses suggesting a sequel. I thought the gags overtook the plot. You know nothing bad is going to happen to the characters and it takes the tension out of the story. I got a little tired of the anachronistic jokes in the middle and thought the book could have been tightened to improve the pacing and provide more plot details. You decide. I guarantee you'll laugh.Reading Level 6.1

In which four overlooked princes depart on an adventure with hopes of making their names known the world over. The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom turns fairy tales on their heads and is replete with whimsical illustrations, princesses, mythical creatures, and -- above all else -- sidesplitting humor. "Think! Frederic told himself. What would Sir Bertram the Dainty do? The answer came to him. In The Case of the Ill-Mannered Milkmaid, Sir Bertram had to get the attentions of a governess who was about to use the wrong kind of wineglass. Frederic could use the same tactic here. Eight years of yodeling lessons were about to pay off. Frederic cupped his hands to his mouth and let out a long: 'Yodel-odel-odel-odel-ay-hee-hooooooo!'"

Since when did fairytales become the realm of the girly? I blame Disney. Back in the days of Grimm your average everyday fairytale might contain princesses and pretty gowns and all that jazz, but it was also just as likely to offer its own fair share of dragons and murderers and goblins as well. Once the Disney company realized that princesses were magnificent moneymakers, gone was the gore and the elements that might make those stories appealing to the boy set. If you actually sat down and watched the films you'd see plenty of princes fighting beasts (or fighting beast princes) but the very idea of "Sleeping Beauty" or "Snow White" or any of those films has taken on a semi-sweet and sickly vibe. By the same token, it's hard to find fractured fairytale children's novels that can be loved just as much by boys as by girls. The great equalizer of all things is, to my mind, humor. Make something funny and gender is rendered irrelevant. There are certainly a fair number of funny fairytale-type stories out there, but to my mind none are quite so delightful and hilarious as Christopher Healy's newest series. Starting with The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom (and followed by The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle), Healy takes that most maligned of all fairytale characters and finally gives "him" a voice. You heard right. Prince Charming is finally getting his due.Meet Princes Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav. If their names don't ring a bell with you, don't be too surprised. Known better by their pseudonym "Prince Charming" the princes are a bit peeved at the lousy P.R. their adventures have garnered. The bards have found that their stories tell better when the girls get all the credit (and actual names) and it isn't just the princes that are peeved. A local witch is more than a little upset, and that anger may have something to do with the slow disappearance of the bards themselves. Now it's up to our four heroes, brought together through the strangest of circumstances, to band together to defeat an evil witch, strike down a giant or two, outwit bandits, and generally find a way to make their faults into strengths.I take a gander at debut author Christopher Healy's credentials and I am oddly pleased. A reviewer of children's books and media he has written for Cookie, iVillage, Parenting, Time Out New York Kids, and Real Simple Family. In short, he's from the parenting sphere. Clearly he's taken what he's learned and applied it here because it's his wordplay that stands out. For example, he might list the jobs Cinderella has to perform as using "every waking hour performing onerous tasks, like scrubbing grout or chipping congealed mayonnaise from between fork tines." By the same token, the sneaky sidenote is a delicate beast. It requires of the author a bit of finesse. Go too far as a writer for children and you end up amusing only the adults who happen to pick up your book. With this in mind, Healy is a sneaky sidenote master. He'll give away a detail about the future and then say, "Oops, sorry about that. I probably should have said, `Spoiler alert'." That's 21st century foreshadowing for you. Or he might sneak in a Groucho Marx reference like "Captain Spaulding" once in a while, but it works within the context of the story (and amuses reviewers like myself in the meantime). Or he'll mention that part of the witch's plan is shooting bears at people out of cannons. It's hard not appreciate a mind that comes up with that kind of thing.In his New York Times review of the book Adam Gopnik took issue with the sheer enjoyment one can have with the book, going so far as to say, "Each page offers something to laugh at, but it can be an effort to turn each page." His objections were steeped in the world building happening here, unfavorably comparing it to The Princess Bride (an unfair comparison if ever there was one) and even shooting quite low when he dared to invoke the name of the Shrek films. Oog. The fact of the matter is that if you're looking for deep insightful probes into the human psyche, this is not the book for you. If you are looking for a perfectly fun story that meanders a bit but always stays on its feet, here's your book. The princes are broad portraits, stereotypes that break out of their chosen roles, if reluctantly. They are also fellows you would follow from book to book to book. They have on-page chemistry (my wordier version of on-screen chemistry). You believe in these guys and you want them to succeed and not get beaten up too badly. It's a fun and funny book and though it won't win huge children's literature awards it will be adored by its readership and discussed at length on the playgrounds of this good great nation. And that is just fine and dandy with me.Considering how many contemporary updates to fairytales there are in pop culture right now (Once Upon a Time, Grimm, Snow White & The Huntsman, etc.) it's strange to me that I can't think of a book to quite compare with this one. A book that takes standard fairytales and familiar characters, renders them unfamiliar but human, and then loads the storyline up with bucketfuls of humor. I mean, books like A Tale Dark and Grimm and In a Glass Grimmly are newfound looks at old standards but they haven't the light bouncy breezy quality of Healy's work. These are fairytales for folks who love Disney, hate Disney, love fractured fairytales, love the original fairytales, and/or just like a good story in general. It's perfect bedtime fare and ideal for those kids who want something amusing to read on their own. You know when a kid walks up to you and says they want a "funny" book? This is for them as well. Basically it's for everyone, fantasy fans and fantasy haters alike. If ever you feel sick of the sheer seriousness of some fantasies (*cough* Eragon *cough*), this is a book for you too. Put it on your To Read list and pronto.For ages 8-12.

I’ve been giving The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom a lot of thought ever since I saw its cover. It is needless to say that I loved it since the moment I laid my eyes on it. It kind of reminds me of DreamWorks movies, How to Train Your Dragon, in particular. I wonder why. I really wanted to buy it and what kept me from doing it was my husband saying that it’s probably not that good. So I let it go and tried to put it behind me.Tried. I couldn’t.I needed the DreamWorks dragon book sooooo badly!! I couldn’t sleep at night because of it. I couldn’t eat nor focus on my work. I started hearing voices telling me to spend the last of my PayPal money on it and forget all about buying that new videogame that I wanted to play so much.I almost gave in. Almost.Bah, who am i kidding? I wouldn’t be here writing this review if I hadn’t bought the darned thing, would I?Yeah I bought it...And it didn’t suck! The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is actually a pretty fun book. Christopher Healy’s sense of humor is extremely cheesy and exactly my style. The characters are cute and the story is fun. There is a catch, though. The secret to loving this book is in not taking it seriously. Want a fast way of having some fun? Go for it. Want a serious book? Don’t bother. Fun and silly are the keywords here.And why would you even expect a serious book considering the cover?! Does that look remotely serious to you? Of course not! Let’s use our brains a bit, people!I was going to give it four stars but the awesome drawings (total surprise there) deserve an extra star. So maximum score for our League of Princes! Review also posted on

===============Original review:===============Ahhaahhahahahaahha, to put it in Layman's terms. (Layman has a lot of terms, incidentally.) This is probably the funniest book one could read. I say probably because of perspective, relativity, and imagined reality, which are probably the most important concepts to remember when one takes finger to keyboard with the intent of reviewing a book.Anyway, the book. It's funny. It's well thought out and created. The writing is superb. Actually, there is nothing in the world to prevent a person from saying, "y'know, y'all, this is pretty good," except for, seeing as "a person" refers to a very generic entity, there may be some exceptions, like the person who is currently attempting to yodel or hold their breath in a glass of cherry gelatin all while juggling little plastic fish sticks—which you really should not try at home. Or your home away from home. Or Rivendell, but I don't know that they have little plastic fish sticks there.Bother. I don't think my mind is on reviewing at all. Maybe I'm being distracted by that little critter that's having itself a nice snack on the ceiling boards up there. Very rude, right?Any way, about the book—and only the book, because I SHALL NOT DIGRESS ANY MORE (AFTER THESE THREE SENTENCES) IN THIS REVIEW. DO YOU HEEEEEEEEAAAR ME? NO YOU DON'T, BECAUSE YOU ARE JUST READING THIS AND NOT LISTENING TO MY VOICE. This is a very good book; have all the recommends.

Novel by Christopher Healy: 4/5Narration by Bronson Pinchot: 3000/5

Take these two movies; take the absolute adorableness of Disney's Tangled, smoosh it with the satirical tone of The Princess Bride, then have Christopher Moore write it, and you have Christopher Healy's The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. Okay, well, just have Christopher Healy write it. Which he did. So...yeah.I reeeeally liked this. Like, really. It fired on all cylinders with me, and I'm planning on reading the next in the series soon. The book's also illustrated with the perfectly "charming" drawings of one Todd Harris. Four solid stars. Definitely recommended for anyone who likes the above blurb I just spat out. Endnote: Aye, some reviewers say this book is too long for its intended audience, but since I'm not 13, it was a fine length for me. I think if I were 13, I still would have enjoyed this, but if you do plan on getting it for a young person, consider whether or not they are voracious readers or merely casual ones. Also, the main characters are four goofy male princes, with the much more capable and stronger princesses such as Cinderella and Rapunzel more or less taking on bit roles.

I think my main complaint on this book was that the cover doesn't feature all four Princes. But overall this was a delightful romp through a fractured fairy-tale land. Healy does a really nice job of turning his Princes into real characters that you come to like despite their flaws. And while those flaws are certainly done on a hyper scale, each prince is still a decent human being . . . who just might need something more to really help him realize it.Strong heroines, wicked and funny villains, plenty of action. A funny book that doesn't descend into being terribly mean or gross to accomplish that humor.This is a middle grade fantasy read that boys and girls alike should find something in to love--and maybe laugh about--along the adventure.

Originally reviewed on Books Take You PlacesWhen you’re a child, you start reading books for the entertainment. You want to get away from the real world and feel elation over the adventure. That is what this book did for me; it made me remember how fun it is to read.I for one have always wondered why every king and queen in fairytale land named their son Charming. It turns out, they didn’t. In fact, these princes all have their own unique name and story, though you’d never know it due to those pesky bards! The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom focuses on four separate Princes Charming: Prince Frederic (He met Cinderella Ella at a ball), Prince Gustav (He saved was saved by a gal named Rapunzel), Prince Liam (He kissed a princess named Briar Rose and woke her up from a really long nap), and Prince Duncan (He and Snow White are rather perfect for one another). The princes have their own quirks and are vastly different though they find themselves thrown together in a quest that will save all of their kingdoms and teach them all what it means to become heroes of their own tale.Life between the princes and princesses is not what any of them had anticipated it would be…Ella wants adventure and life with Frederic is not at all what she had imagined it would be when she met him that night at the ball. While Ella would rather travel and explore, Frederic is much happier having a quiet picnic on his grounds – on a blanket of course, one must keep clean – or quietly admiring art in the safety of his castle, this difference in personality leads Ella to go off on her own, leaving Frederic to his safe, (somewhat boring) life.Gustav often acts before thinking and therefore his mission of rescuing Rapunzel from her tower didn’t go as planned and she ended up leaving on her own, finding him wandering the forest, and rescuing him. As you can imagine, this is a rather sore subject for someone who believes himself to be quite the manly hero so he takes off to search for some adventure of his own and a way to make a name for himself, away from Rapunzel and his sixteen older brothers.Liam, though arrogant, is really a bit more like the Prince Charming from the original tales. He is handsome, brave and well, princely. Unfortunately, when Prince Liam first rescued Briar Rose, he did not anticipate that she would be spoiled, selfish and an all-together mean person. This led to a rather awkward conversation in which Liam refused to marry Briar Rose and she threw a royal fit and vowed that she would marry him while he stood in shackles if need be. He promptly (and intelligently, in my opinion) put as much distance possible between himself and the princess.Finally, Prince Duncan and Snow White are married and are quite happy for the most part. However, Duncan is rather quirky and sometimes Snow just needs some quiet time so she asks Duncan to “Go do something else” without her. He then blows Snow a kiss, leaves for a walk and becomes hopelessly lost. Lucky for him (and he will be the first to tell you just how lucky he is) he is found a few days later by Frederic and Gustav who are on their way to “rescue” Ella. Personally, I loved Duncan beyond reason. His antics and outbursts had me laughing out loud. He is definitely one of the sweetest characters I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. “Wild card, got it,” Duncan said. “Just like in Crazy Eights. I can be a diamond; I can be a spade. Whatever you need me to be, I’m that thing. That is so me.” Both the princes and princesses are fabulous, though I hope we hear more from Rapunzel in book two and I greatly appreciated their vast differences and limitations that made them all stand out. The villains were also fantastic; I have a rather soft spot for a witch who uses a thesaurus spell so that she can insult people more creatively! The dwarves (not dwarfs) provide some snarky fun and the trolls are vastly misunderstood creatures.This book made me insanely happy. It made me remember what it was like to curl up with my first Wizard of Oz book as a child. It made me smile, giggle and laugh out loud, a feat that few books are able to accomplish. But most of all, it helped me realize that I really do have a soft spot for Middle Grade novels. Thank you, Mr. Healy, for reminding me what it feels like to fall in love with reading for the first time.As an aside: There isn’t one thing I would change about this novel. On top of having a lyrical and phenomenal story, the illustrations were a wonderful compliment to the tale. Also, I am definitely not a person who longs for books to be made into movies. In fact, I rather hate when it happens. However, this book was different. According to Christopher Healy’s website, it has been announced that 20th Century Fox Animation has optioned the film rights to The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom. I am thrilled and can’t wait to see where this goes!

Well at least some of them are.See the bards got it wrong in all those heroic stories of Prince Charming saving this or that Princess.  Really 'Prince Charming' was a whole bunch of guys named Liam, Frederic, Duncan and Gustav and honestly most of their heroic escapades were a matter of good luck and good timing.  But what kind of story is that?  So embellishments happened, expectations rose and well...that means folks were bound to be disappointed with the real thing.I'm a real sucker when it comes to comedic fantasies. Add in the subversion and outright toss out the window nature of fairy tales and you've got a fan in me. All this means is that from the very first moment I heard about this book I wanted it. Didn't care it was for middle grade, didn't care that it was an author I never heard of--I just wanted the book.Boy did it NOT let me down.Healy takes a premise that sounds a bit hokey (the Princes Charming get rejected so they set out to save the world and prove everyone wrong) and crafts a hilarious, touching tale about being true to yourself (without being preachy).  Almost as importantly I think this book will appeal to not just the middle grade audience, but to anyone who enjoys a light-hearted fantasy.Admittedly the writing itself is simple and the narrative is obviously written to appeal to a young child's mind (one that is prone to being easily distracted), but its the characters who shine.  Poor Prince Frederic, the 'Prince Charming' who saved Cinderella from a life of menial servitude, was raised to be such a milquetoast that he doesn't understand why Cinderella (aka just 'Ella' thank you) isn't perfectly content with a structured routine that doesn't change or surprise.  Prince Gustav ('Prince Charming' from Rapunzel's story) is a failure at fighting despite being a fairly hulking guy and is only further humiliated when Rapunzel not only saves herself, but restores his vision and saves him as well.Also the less said about poor Prince Duncan is probably the better.These guys can't catch a break and it makes you feel REALLY bad for them because of it (also makes me want to smack a couple of their heads together but that's besides the point).  When they band together to not only return their names to glorious heroic portions, but also to stop an evil plot no one believes exists I won't lie I was more than a little worried it would end badly.Healy obviously enjoys himself as well.  The Prologue for instance, which breaks the fourth wall so hard you'd think it never existed, spoils events the happen 19 chapters later and unashamedly admits that the Princes Charming are really anything but at times.  You can tell that Healy really must have wanted to make this book as fun, amusing and exciting (in safe ways, Frederic assures you) and honestly I bet this will be a hoot read aloud. So whether you are a ten year old seeking to defeat an evil witch and needing some pointers, or a 20something like me interested in hearing the 'true' story of Prince Charming, THE HERO'S GUIDE TO SAVING YOUR KINGDOM is definitely worth checking out.