Friday, July 24, 2015

Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party by Shannon & Dean Hale -- ADVISABLE

Hale, Shannon and Dean Hale The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party (Princess in Black #2), illustrated by LeUyen Pham. Candlewick Books, October 13, 2015. $14.99. Content: G.

Princess Magnolia loves to fight goat-eating monsters as her alter-ego, The Princess in Black. Only, today's not a good day for monster fighting because it's her birthday and she wants to celebrate with her eleven closest friends. Organizing your own birthday party is a challenge, but when you have to duck out repeatedly to kick monsters back to Monster Land -- all while keeping your secret identity, well, secret -- it can be quite the challenge.

As in the original tale, The Princess in Black, Magnolia is a great heroine. She's resourceful, smart, and strong, with enough princess style to appeal to fancier readers. Magnolia's friends demonstrate great diversity, and both the repeated monster alarms and Magnolia's quick-thinking reactions create some delightfully humorous situations. With all the sound effects and colorful illustrations, this one is a lot of fun to read aloud.

EL -- ADVISABLE. Reviewer: Caryn

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