Princess Pigsty
Kindergarten-Grade 2—Princess Isabella is tired of being pampered, and of sitting around being pretty. She wants to climb trees, wear pants, and make her own sandwiches. She wants to have fun. One morning, after she throws her crown in the fishpond and refuses to be a royal anymore, her father orders her to work in the kitchens for punishment. For three days she is happy doing chores, and when the king sends for her, she refuses to retrieve her regal headdress. This time he sends her to the pigsty. Isabella likes this work even better—the pigs are smart and interesting. When her father sends for her again, she not only refuses to get her crown, but also to put on a dress or comb her hair. That evening the king tells his daughter that she may do what makes her happy as long as she returns to the castle because he misses her. This sweet and amusing tale makes use of bold type that resembles handwriting to emphasize important words such as "boring," "pinched," "stink," and "pigsty." The comical watercolor illustrations are replete with royal reds, golds, and purples. They clearly depict the expressions of the characters in an entertaining and refreshing way. Pair this one with Robert Munsch'sThe Paper Bag Princess(Annick, 1992) for a storytime about independent-minded royals.—Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NHCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.