Brave The Essential Guide written by Barbara Bazaldua (DK Publishing) is sure to please everyone from the veteran Pixar fans to the youngest of Pixar fans. The book measures 7.875 inches by 10.375 inches (20cm x 26.2cm) and is 63 pages in length. Set as an informative guide, this book is full of movie stills, fun facts about the characters, and the complete story of Brave told in a brief, but visual way.
While reading this book I found myself getting lost in the brilliant animation as well as the quirky blurbs that I can’t wait to read it to my nieces and nephews. By reading the book, I found that even though Merida is the main character – this isn’t the average “Princess” movie. From the silly triplets to the bumbling, hot-headed Lords, there’s plenty to keep both boys and girls interested in this book from start to finish – oh, and let’s not forget the adorable bears!
The book begins with an introduction to Castle DunBroch as well as the main characters Merida, Queen Elinor, King Fergus, Angus, and of course the “Castle Explorers”, otherwise known as the Triplets. A few things that I really enjoyed was the “Did You Know?” blurb on Merida’s page, which reads “Did you know? A Scottish Gaelic saying, ‘Ruadh gu breath,’ means ‘Redheads forever!’ Also, more red-haired people live in Scotland than anywhere else in the world!”
The three Lords have their own page where we learn more about each of their backgrounds. My personal favorite is that Lord Macintosh grows apples when not fighting. I like to think this is a nod to Steve Jobs (though not confirmed).
One of the most interesting parts of the book is “The Legend” page – I won’t go into much detail as I don’t want to give away the story, but the photos paired with text really explained Queen Elinor’s cautionary tale really well.
A cute addition to this book was the “Who Suits Merida?” page, where it’s set up as a dating show with Young Macintosh, Young MacGuffin, and Wee Dingwall. There is a short Q&A with each of them, the best one being with Young MacGuffin (who is barely audible and often mumbles).
One of the more moving sections was the “Love & Conflict” page, where we learn of Merida and Queen Elinor’s special bond as well as the natural conflict that exists between this mother and teenage daughter. Reading these pages – though brief, I couldn’t help but be brought to tears thinking of my own relationship with my mom.
PURCHASING
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The remainder of the book gives away spoilers about the ending of the movie, so we’ll withhold those details. Plus, if we told you everything, you wouldn’t need to read it yourself! 🙂 Be sure to pick up Brave The Essential Guide on Amazon.
