Review Detail

Princess Sue is simply the worst. She won't sit in the tower's penthouse suite, twirling her hair and enjoying frilly dresses. Instead she's rather invite dragons for tea and play tricks on knights. And who could blame her? Not all girls want to be a traditional princess. THE WORST PRINCESS is a funny and clever story about a girl who tosses the traditional fairy tale on its side and then pours tea all over it.

Written in lyrical, rhyming prose, THE WORST PRINCESS is simply perfect for reading aloud to children. I can imagine a librarian reading it to a group of girls at a Princess Party! Just imagine what the reactions would be from the little princesses-turning their traditional princess tale right around and setting fire to it. The layout of the text is well-done, with a lot of spacing on each page and a fairly large font. At times the colorful illustrations overwhelm the text and make it hard to read, again enforcing my idea that this book is best for reading aloud to kids.

The illustrations are so much fun. They often span both pages, creating prismatic scenes that will delight kids and adults alike. It's like a rainbow splashed across every page - vibrant foliage, outrageous outfits, a fiery red dragon, a princess in purple. I especially loved the Prince's regalia: puffy blue polka-dot pants and a pink feather on his helm. Princess Sue wears a bright dress with yellow converse sneakers. The illustrations are quirky and perfect, and frankly creativity-inspiring. They could be used as prompts for an art project after reading the book.

THE WORST PRINCESS is colorful riot of a story, and a must-read for fairy tale fanatics, library storytimes, and princess parties.