Showing posts with label Wide-Awake Princess series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wide-Awake Princess series. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 6, 2014

THE BRAVEST PRINCESS by E. D. Baker

The Bravest Princess (Wide-Awake Princess Series)

Princess Annie and her magical immunity are back to try and save the day. This time she has seen her sister successfully married, and Annie is off to help her friend, Snow White. Snow's evil step-mother has escaped, and Snow is on a fast track to marriage so she can leave her kingdom and go somewhere safe. She wants Annie's help in choosing the right prince. Annie also has her own troubles to deal with in this story -- someone has figured out a way around her magical immunity, and Annie is in real danger.

It took me several days to get started on this book, so I had it on display in the library for awhile in my "What I'm Reading Now" spot. Student after student asked if she could check it out and were crushed to discover it was my personal book and not part of our school library. I was surprised by how many girls requested the book but hadn't read the first two books in the series. The cover really captured their attention! Happily, I could steer them toward the start of the series while they wait for me to get a copy for the school.

This was a great adventure story and a terrific continuation of the series. There's great development of the relationship between Annie and Prince Liam - including some realistic tension between Annie's desire to be helpful and Liam's desire to keep her safe. Another good happily-ever-after for a princess in Annie's world, and hopefully more adventures to come in the Wide-Awake Princess series.

4.5 out of 5 stars
No AR reading level at this time

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

CHAPTER BOOK: Unlocking the Spell by E. D. Baker

Unlocking the Spell: A Tale of the Wide-Awake Princess

Princess Annie is back! Only weeks after she saves her kingdom from a sleeping curse, she's off on another adventure. This time she is looking for the dwarf who turned her sister's true love into a bear. Liam goes with her as they know they make a good team, but Prince Beldegard goes along to help them track the dwarf, and Gwen insists on joining them rather than be without her prince. Along the way, the group encounters Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, the Three Bears, the Three Pigs, Snow White, the Evil Queen and the Seven Dwarfs, although not every one is who he/she appears to be at first look.

Great story and a great sequel. There's more in this book than the first one about the relationship between Liam and Annie as well as Gwen and Beldegard, with the ups and downs that come with young love. Lot's of fairy tale characters and stories weave in and out of the group's quest for the evil dwarf. I hope there will be more chapter's in Princess Annie's story. She's a great character! I love the things that happen to unsuspecting magic users when they try to curse her and their magic bounces back on them.

4 out of 5 stars
AR Reading level of 5.3

Recommended for: fans of the first book and/or other fairy tale-based stories, readers looking for a romantic story that is appropriate for pre-teen readers (it's not a major part of the story, but it is a thread that holds the story together)

Cautions:  none