Tag Archives: Princess

Elem. – Princess Adventures: This Way or That Way?

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Misslin, Sylvie. Princess Adventures: This Way or That Way? Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020. 978-0-358-04186-2. 32 p. Grades K-2. 

When Princesses Rose and Josephine set out for adventure, they cannot agree on which path to take, thus it is up to the reader to decide. A two sentence introduction to the plot is followed by a choice of two icons, one for each girl. These coordinate with tabs running vertically along the right edge of the page. At top is a castle which serves as a home tab followed by a picture of each princess then moving down to common items: flowers, a sword, a spiderweb, a window. Each item leads readers to a spread featuring a brief plot point in the tale. After selecting one of the girls to follow, readers use these tabs to turn to the next installment of the story until a happy ending or the return to castle prompt begins the story all over again. Depending on the reader’s interests, the princesses may stop for berries or a nap in the forest, encounter a fearsome dragon, or sample sweets baked by the royal chefs. While some choices are linear, parts of the story may require readers to return to earlier pages in the book or to skip ahead. Plots are brief but endearing and likely to be enjoyed by early readers while the interactive tabs will empower reluctant readers to take control of the story. Whimsical illustrations enhance the humorous fairytale theme. Princess Rose appears to be slightly older with brunette hair and glasses while Josephine’s hair is a reddish blonde. Both Princesses and all secondary human characters present as white with variations of blonde, brown and black hair.

THOUGHTS: This interactive picture book is sure to be a hit with the fairytale lovers and offers pre-readers a chance to practice storytelling and may incentivize reluctant readers to keep trying until one of two possible paths to a happy ending is revealed. Tabs are integral to the page, making it easy for readers to select their story path with minimal wear and tear. The story mechanic of selecting a plot line is intuitive but not explicitly explained to readers.

Picture Book/Moveable          Jackie Fulton, Mt. Lebanon SD

Easy Readers – Princess Cora; Good for Nothing Button

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Schlitz, Laura Amy. Princess Cora and the Crocodile. Candlewick Press, 2017. 978-0-7636-4822-0. $16.99. 74 p. Gr. 1-3.

Immediately upon her birth, Princess Cora’s parents, the King and Queen, began educating their daughter to one day assume the crown. Cora is subjected to thrice-daily baths, a tedious exercise regime and hours reading boring books on how to run a kingdom.  Neither her nanny nor her parents will listen to any of Cora’s objections to her daily routine. Even her request for a dog is soundly denied (dogs are dirty and time-consuming). Frustrated and at her wit’s end, Cora writes a letter to her fairy godmother asking for a pet. Due to her lack of specificity, and apparently the godmother’s wicked sense of humor, Cora is shocked to find she has been sent a crocodile. The crocodile smiles and tries to assure Cora he can eat everyone who annoys her. Cora tries to convince the crocodile that she does not wish him to eat her parents; she just wants a day off. So the crocodile dresses as Cora and takes her place, with predictably hilarious results. Beautiful illustrations throughout by Brian Floca add to the charm of the book. THOUGHTS:  A delightful story sure to charm beginning readers, and one no doubt appreciated by any child who feels over-scheduled.   

Easy Reader; Fiction       Nancy Nadig, Penn Manor SD

 

Harper, Charise Mericle.  The Good for Nothing Button! Hyperion Books for Children, 2017. 9781484726464. Unpaged. $9.99. Gr. K-2.

In this latest book in the Elephant and Piggie Like Reading! series, we meet three birds who are examining a red button that appears to have no function.  Yellow Bird declares that this button does nothing when pressed, but Blue Bird and Red Bird want to test it out for themselves.  Blue Bird feels a sense of surprise when he presses it, so states that the button does indeed do something.  Yellow Bird does not have the same experience and says that she actually feels sad.  The experimentation continues with Yellow Bird, who begins to feel angry, but the trio comes to realize that the button makes them seem funny.  This is a silly story, but one that will hold the interest of children and make them laugh out loud.  Yellow Bird shares some characteristics of Mo Willems’ Pigeon, such as his tendency to become upset easily.  Elephant and Piggie are seen reading this book on the endpapers and title page. They introduce the story and encourage us to read it as they are doing. Pigeon is harder to find, but appears on the back cover.  Harper’s illustrations of the birds are whimsical and are done in the cartoon style of Willems’ drawings.   Thoughts:  This is a must-have for all elementary collections.  Emerging readers will enjoy the story as they develop their fluency skills.  Librarians will need to decide if they will place these with Willems’ other books or classify them by the author’s name.  The other two books in this series, The Cookie Fiasco and We are Growing!, are by different authors.

Early Chapter        Denise Medwick, West Allegheny SD