Princess Hyacinth (the Surprising Tale of a Girl who Floated)

This story was not on my book list but I came across it while I was looking for other books. And I bought it just because the title was so literal and the story looked humorous; books I tend to like very much.
In this story by Florence Parry Heide, Princess Hyacinth has a very uncommon problem, she floats. It's only when she's dressed in all of her heavy royal clothing that she stays on the ground and this is what she must wear when she goes outside. She is only allowed to float in the safety of the palace walls where she will not float up up and away. But this is saddening to her because she sees all of the other children playing outside including a male character, called Boy who flies his kite with an image of her crown on it. One day she decides to go out and encounters a man with a large number of balloons and after persuading him to do so, she takes off all of her royal clothing and floats along with the balloons with a string tied around her ankle. But this poses some problems when the man accidentally lets go of some of the strings of balloons including Princess Hyacinth but in this time she has never felt freer. She only becomes concerned when she continues to float so she can't see her home anymore but comes across Boy's kite where she gets tangled and is eventually reeled back in. During this time, the balloon man has run to tell the king and queen and they don't seem very concerned especially because the king can still keep and eye on her with his binoculars. In the end, the problem of Princess Hyacinth's floating was never solved but she was never bored again with the help of Boy.
Oh my, I found this story very amusing because it's different and the little details make it fun to read. I thought it was so funny that the Princess' name is hard to pronounce while the boy in this story was called, Boy. Also, that her parents did not have more concern for her safety in the sky because they were comforted enough to have binoculars. The illustrations were enjoyable as well because again, of the small details which were included in keeping the Princess grounded and the text placement goes in line with the story. And it's straightforward in what's happening; there is no miraculous solution but she learned to live with her abnormality. This is what I think is a main theme of the story; being happy with yourself no matter what weird habits or things a part of you, you may have. It teaches acceptance and as expressed, it's fun to read in the process. I definitely recommend it. It's contemporary literature that would be fun to read in the classroom.