Princess Smartypants Rules
PreSchool-Grade 2–The protagonist introduced inPrincess Smartypants(Penguin, 1987) is back for another adventure. This time, the young royal of Totaloonia decides that it would be fun to have a baby. When she asks her mother if it would be possible to have one without getting married, the queen quickly replies, "Certainly NOT!" Thinking that Princess Smartypants needs something to occupy her time, the Queen puts her in charge of making the Royal Gravy for a banquet. The grocer misunderstands her phone order and sends a packet of "ready-mix BABY" instead. The resultant brown-skinned, super baby is kidnapped by evil Count Rottenghut in short order, and Princess Smartypants leads a squadron of dragons on a rescue mission. She is congratulated and put in charge of the kingdom while her parents go on tour. To help control the rambunctious infant, she enlists the help of two baby dragons to keep him out of trouble. The plot has too many twists and turns. The protagonist's actions do not ring true and she seems almost incidental to the story. The illustrations are humorous and help give some sense of personality to the characters. Purchase only where the previous story is in demand.–Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN