Princess Amanita is not your stereotypical prim and prissy princess. She likes things that are a little more.... dangerous. Her garden, full of thistles and man-eating plants, is one of her favorite dangerous places. One day, a prince named Florian stumbles upon Amanita and her garden - and blows up a cluster of grenapes, ruining Amanita's wheelbarrow. As a peace offering, Florian brings a bunch of roses from his kingdom - something Amanita despises until she discovers their thorns. She asks for some seeds to grow her own, but instead of rose seeds, her note looks like she wants nose seeds, and the flowers she grows are quite annoying and not very dangerous. This sets Amanita on an adventure to find Florian's kingdom, even if she has to travel some dangerous terrain all by herself.
Our closest book store is in the next county, and on a trip back in February we walked in during a meeting of that county's reading council. About thirty teachers were set up in the middle of the store, listening to book sellers and authors talking about some of their latest favorites in books for kids. I eavesdropped as much as I could, and we eventually got a snack and sat in the cafe so I could hear the end of the presentation. This was one of the books they highlighted. I loved the twist on the typical princess story - I think I have some girls at school who are less Snow White and more Amanita. Even some of my boys might like a story with noses instead of roses and grapes that explode like grenades.
4 out of 5 stars
AR level of 4.1
Recommended for: early elementary, although I suspect more of my second graders will like this one than my kindergarteners.
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