Princess Peeper Picks a Pet by Pam Calvert illustrated by Tuesday Mourning

from goodreads

3.5 stars

Sometimes when I pick up a book and look at the cover I get taken a back and think, is that really their name! Tuesday Mourning... seriously?! Even after doing the google thing, I still don't know if that is a pseudonym or not, but it is pretty cool, and I like her drawings.


Synopsis

This book is about a princess who wears glasses. She goes to the Royal Academy for Perfect Princesses, though she doesn't quite fit in. When the Grand Matron announces a pet show, Princess Peepers sets out to find the greatest pet of all. This is one book of a small series of Princess Peeper books.

My Thoughts

My kids liked this book. Anything about princesses, they are there and they are loving it! I like that Princess Peepers doesn't try to blend in and stays true to herself, though it would have been nice to see her stand up for herself a bit more.

I found the book rather confusing. Sometimes she is referred to as Princess Peepers, other times she is referred to as "the princess". Usually one would only use the term "the princess" if we didn't know the princesses name. When reading aloud I always wanted to say "the princesses", as I thought maybe she was referring to the group. It was very strange.

I was also confused about what message was trying to be brought across. Morals in children's books are always hard. Either the author beats you over the head with it or they don't go far enough. It is a hard balance to strike. With Princess Peepers, I would almost say that the author doesn't go far enough. It is great to see Princess Peepers doing her own thing and being happy with her interests, but when the other girls say mean things about her pet ideas, I wished she said, "this is my pet and I like it!"

Though it is not a conventional Princess story, I think any princess at heart will enjoy Princess Peepers.