Princess Says Goodnight

PreS-Gr 2-As her tired parents lead their prancing little girl off to bed, all three become transformed into royal personages via the hall mirror. What follows is a fantasy bedtime routine in which the little princess, home from the ball, climbs the palace stairs and enters her royal bed chamber where "a frothy glass of milk with chocolate cream eclairs" await her. A servant draws her royal bath, ladies-in-waiting sing a lullaby, and there's a bedtime story, too. Most magical of all, the two royals who attend the princess become parents again, just in time for a good-night kiss. "Every...shade of pink-/mauve and peach and rose," the princess's favorites, predominate in Small's humorous watercolor and crayon cartoon spreads. The family dog rolls its eyes as the little girl begins her routine. She bathes in a swan-shaped tub and sleeps in a vast room complete with an ornate, canopied bed. The child is all motion and delight as she savors her many amenities. The rhyming text is brief and will be more thoroughly enjoyed by youngsters who have some knowledge of fairy tales. The princess polishes her glass slippers and kisses her frog, Prince, while her dad searches under the mattress for peas. This is a good choice for parents seeking a bedtime story for their aspiring princesses.

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Princess wannabes will adore Howland's (Latkes, Latkes, Good to Eat) spirited heroine as she waltzes through bedtime imagining herself and her family in a royal palace. The story begins with illustrations of an ordinary, modern family, but when the redheaded girl sees herself in a hallway mirror, she is transformed into the princess she imagines herself to be. Her bookish brother becomes a jester, and her royal parents still take time to fluff her pillows and tuck her in. Like Fancy Nancy, Princess is drawn to frilliness (and "every pretty shade of pink"), but Small's (Stitches) enchanting watercolors are comparatively subdued, in keeping with the bedtime mood. The rhymed text is a series of questions ("Will Princess hang her tiara/ on the bedpost overnight?/ Does she get a bedtime story/ before turning off the light?"), and the ending returns to the ordinary family home as Princess says, "Goodnight!" Sweet and disarmingly infectious without being cloying, this is a bedtime story full of joy and imagination. Ages 4-7. 

Copyright 2010 Publisher’s Weekly, LLC Used with permission.