“Imagia and the Magic Pearls” vs. Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog”: Who wins?

Article written by: Andre Sanchez
Posted on: October 26, 2009

Author Monroe S. Tarver is about to drop his first book in a new series called Imagia and the Magic Pearls: Tales from the Mapmaker. What’s unique about this book? It features an African-American princess as the star of the series.

So was it serendipity or strategic marketing that this book’s release date is close to Disney’s landmark movie ”The Princess and the Frog“, the first major motion cartoon to feature a black princess protagionist?

The folks over at Wizarding World Press were kind enough to send me an advance copy of the book, as well as some collector’s item trading cards.

“The Princess and the Frog” is scheduled for a limited release on Thanksgiving.

 

There are striking differences between the two stories I can’t help but point out. Above as you see the picture of Princess Tiana, a princess with a ethically unidentifiable prince. Disney has created a princess that little black girls can look up to. Big brown eyes, permed hair (the hair is a different article for a different time).

Here’s a picture of Imagia from the book:

 

Imagia sports the more natural look with the braids, but has blue eyes. Why blue eyes? Some of you might understand why I ask that. I want to hear your comments on what you think about that, after you’ve finished reading my review.

Some things to think about:

• Target age range is 5-9 year-olds. 
• 112 pages
• Includes illustrations, sparsely drawn in parts, and sometimes given as a pleasing backdrop to the story

Now with all said and done, close your eyes and imagine yourself taken to the world of Trillow- a place of pearls. It all starts with 3 items- three magic pearls, a torn scroll ,and a Sweet Potato (0f all things).

Princess Imagia lives a mundane, seemingly boring life in the Kingdom of Zimbah in the land of Trillow, complete with servants and a large castle in which Bubbleflies (kind of like a butterfly but it flies via bubbles instead of wings) communicate with her. Nanny Layla is a prominent adult figure.

Summary

Without giving too much away in the book, Imagia ends up finding a hole in the palace wall, leading to the outside world she has yet to explore. After an evil Queen named Baddora sends her sidekick Jar to steal a precious pearl from Imagia that the queen needs to complete her nefarious plot, Imagia finds herself and her newfound Flutterwalk friend traversing through the spooky vine crawling forests to Baddora’s lair where the battle for Trillow’s survival takes place.

Now for the critique:

Tarver has a fascination with pearls in this story. There are pearl trees, a lake of pearls…why only pearls in this story? Couldn’t there be other sorts of jewels and precious stones for the children to take in and treasure? But mind you, I’m a 23 year old writing a review about a book marketed at children ages 5-9, so maybe a child within that range wouldn’t necessarily care about the repetition manifested here. Besides, repetition is a good thing usually with children’s materials for the simple fact that they usually remember it! But I digress.

The illustrations are strong, subtle at times, much like how a fairytale is traditionally represented in these kind of books. A couple of grammatical errors as well, but something I’m sure they will fix before it launches November 1st.

In the faceoff between Baddora and Imagia, I felt there was hardly enough tension and quality dialogue to engage the reader in what will happen next. Baddora also has powers that only work in parts of the land: that puzzled me.

Tarver does have poetry introductions for each chapter that creatively summarizes the previous chapter and foreshadows what could happen next.

I could go on about the small stuff, but the main question is, when this book comes out, WILL YOU CARE?

It’s a very bold move to release a book in the same genre as a major motion picture with in my opinion, a much more developed story. In a world of Bubbleflies, Braidworms who braid your hair for you and thought-flutteries, it seems to me that Tarver focuses on standing out with his imaginative, fantastical names for people and creatures rather than developing the plot.

It’s very hard to capture the attention of a 5-9 year old. How Harry Potter did it, and how “The Princess and the Frog” will, is because of their foundation of captivating plotlines and rich backstories. Unfortunately, Imagia doesn’t quite have the same effect; though it does pay homage to the African-American fairytale genre, it’s only a quiver and not a quake.

Regardless, I can imagine a lot of African-American parents who want a creative way to introduce women of color in a positive light to their young daughters. Not to generalize, but this might be the very thing Tarver wanted. The most positive thing everyone can take from this book is the emphasis on imagination and living a life of purpose. Imagia has wise leaders in this story who encourage her in living a life of meaning and and responsibility. And at the end of the day, isn’t that what we want our future generation to accomplish?

2 1/2 stars out of five