Gillian Rogerson (text) & Sarah McIntyre (illustrations) (Scholastic)
It is Princess Spaghetti’s’ birthday party and all is set and ready to go: the giant chocolate cake, the chocolate milkshake, the chocolate spread sandwiches (notice a theme here?). But where is her father, King Cupcake? He has been kidnapped by aliens! Nobody seems to want to help but the princess is not to be deterred and decides to go and look for him herself. Despite a few technical glitches she manages by chance to land on the planet where her dad is being held captive… and is about to become the aliens’ dinner! Can the princess convince them to change their minds? She sure can, and has no qualms about showing them who really is boss!
We had loved Morris the Mankiest Monster so we were very excited to hear that Sarah McIntyre had a new book out, this time about princesses, chocolate, and cupcakes (the best kind of combination for my 5 year-old daughter!). But don’t be fooled by Princess Spaghetti’s pink and cutesy exterior, this is one feisty royal!
I loved this book, and so did my two children. There’s a great message in there: loving pink and cute stuff does not necessarily mean you are not a strong, assertive character. My daughter is a big fan of the Princess Poppy books, much to our despair, and I really resent all that overly sickly-sweet sentiments that drip out of the stories. No one likes a goody-two-shoes! So I think it’s healthy for her to see a “pink princess” under a new light.
We thought the alien fainting with joy over tasting chocolate for the first-time was hilarious, and the book will delight chocolate-lovers the world over!
I think Sarah’s work in fantastic; it is child-friendly, yet utterly contemporary and so vibrant: colours just jump at you from the page and her illustrations convey such a sense of fun and happiness, it is a real antidote to a dull moment!
If you have a minute, I press you at her website which is absolutely fantastic.
She has created a lot of activities, including a Princess Party pack (with party invites!) and some learning to draw activities linked to the fantastic Vern & Lettuce, which were my son’s favourite characters from the DFC.
We had never read anything by author Gillian Rogerson. I like author/illustrator collaborations because you often choose a book because you admire either the author or the illustrator and this allos you to make great new discoveries, just like this one. A great collaboration, and a great picture book. We want more please!
Yay, thanks so much for the great review!
Glad you like the feisty princess, and the line about the alien fainting with joy was what made me laugh and loud, and know for sure I wanted to take on that text.
Thank you for such a great reveiew. When I created Princess Spaghetti I wanted to have a princess that doesn’t wait around to be rescued – and one that loves chocolate! The characters in my other books are simliar in that they don’t do what is expected of them e.g. a teddy bear that doesn’t want to be cute and cuddly. You can see full details on my website, http://www.gillianrogerson.net.
Thanks again for your lovely review. I love your website and will return often!
Thank you both for dropping by! We read it again tonight actually and my 7 year-old son who had gone into his own room to read came rushing in saying “I wanna listen, I wanna listen”!
I will have a look at your website Gillian and Sarah we look forward to the Vern & Lettuce book!!!