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Copywork
About This Passage
This passage is worth copying for its rhetorical rhythm. Shannon Hale uses four 'princesses do not' sentences to set up a rule, and then the whole chapter reveals that Princess Magnolia breaks every rule. The repetition is funny because each statement is more extreme than the last, and the final 'most definitely do not' is overcorrection that tells us the rule is about to shatter. This is comic timing in prose.
Princesses do not run. Princesses do not stuff frilly pink dresses into broom closets. Princesses do not wear black. And princesses most definitely do not slide down secret chutes and high-jump castle...
Full copywork activity with handwriting lines available in the complete study guide.
Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Retell the chapter, paying attention to the moment when Princess Magnolia's 'monster alarm' rings during the visit with Duchess Wigtower.
Discussion Questions
- Shannon Hale introduces Princess Magnolia as prim and frilly AND as a secret superhero. How does the book treat the contrast? Is it silly, serious, or something in between?
- The chapter opens with tea and scones — the most non-adventurous scene possible. Why does Hale start her adventure story with such a quiet opening?
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
extremely neat and careful about proper behavior, to the point of seeming stiff
Item 2
a hidden second self that a character has in addition to their public one — a convention of superhero fiction
Item 3
to find out a secret that was being hidden — often said with a hint of nosiness
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Critical Thinking
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