Princess Patty Meets Her Match

PreS-Gr 1—Princess Patty is bored waiting for her promised prince to come. Taking action, she gathers up essentials in her "super sparkly" knapsack and, with her pet starfish, Miss Loverpuff, and comfy walking shoes, she hits the road to find him. Many classic fairy-tale tropes are woven in as she tries to find her "just right" prince, offering predictability while still allowing for a little surprise. Princess Patty meets a pushy shoe shover who hasn't learned to untie laces (and she's not interested in a glass slipper), a delirious dragon catcher, and an eager kisser, and witnesses frogs begging to be kissed, long hair climbers, and princes who put food under mattresses (gross). Just as she is about to give up, she meets a prince who warns her that he is incapable of doing any of those things, but, like her, is terribly hungry. Libraries can never have too many titles to meet the demand for stories featuring plucky princesses, and this one nails the intended audience with the need for pink and an offbeat fashion sense. Harper's bright colors and familiar cartoon characters (Fashion Kitty, Just Grace) fit the playful tone of the story, where rich backgrounds are layered with action and with new things to find in each inevitable rereading.—Danielle Jones, Multnomah County Library, OR