The Malachite Palace

Master storyteller Alma Flor Ada weaves a charming original fairy tale that celebrates the innocence of youth. The princess who lives in the malachite palace is prohibited from playing with the children beyond the gates. They are rude, ignorant, and common, she is told by her elders. But when the princess captures a beautiful songbird and then watches that bird lose its song in captivity, she learns a great deal about her own freedom to become the child she wants to be. This is a story that will reach into the hearts of all children who instinctively want to trust, to be friends, and to accept just as they are accepted. Leonid Gore's dreamlike art is the perfect complement to this moving tale.