In this picture book, originally published in French, Montreal author Mireille Levert adapts a traditional folk-tale plot: Alicia, a demanding princess, must be appeased, and her hand won by someone ingenious enough to please her and find a way to cure her boredom. Many try in vain, until one sensible prince proves that happiness comes from doing things yourself, not having them done for you.

Much of the fun in the book comes from various pleasures the royal parents have contrived to amuse their outrageously spoiled daughter – for example, the princess-washer, a splendidly Rube Goldberg-like invention – and her ill-tempered reactions to them. The moral of the story is wisely kept implicit, rather than spelled out, and is convincing and satisfying, despite  the fact that the solution to the problem is presented rather perfunctorily.

Josée Masse’s illustrations are delightful, starting with the luscious cover in lime green and pink. Although Masse uses traditional fairy-tale costuming and furnishings, her pictures have a very modern flair and sense of humour. Angles and perspectives vary constantly, making the illustrations themselves a playfully postmodern reminder that the story of Alicia’s discovery of her own creativity is, of course, itself a fabrication.