The Princess in Black

This is a fabulous beginning reader. It's action packed, and easy to read. Unlike some easy to read books, this book's pages contain the right amount of easy to read words. I felt like each of the words are ones first and second graders should easily be able to read. Each page contains great illustrations that will keep readers engaged with the story. My daughter and I loved this book. It's full of adventure, heart, and the best part, is that it is about Princess Magnolia. Princess Magnolia is not a normal Princess. I mean, she is a Princess, and she wears the things you'd except a Princess to wear, and she does the things you'd excerpt a Princess to do. But, she has a secret. Princess Magnolia is also, the Princess in Black. The Princess in Black is not afraid of anything. Unlike Princess Magnolia who wears Pink, the Princess in Black wears all black. Since Princess Magnolia lives close to wear the monsters live, it's up to the Princess in Black to stop them. When a big Blue Monster tries to take some goats, it's up to the Princess in Black to save the day. Luckily she doesn't have to face the monsters alone. She has her trusted horse by her side. And yes, he too has his own disguise. I love that the story is about a girl who can be both a Princess and a great heroine. It shows kids that they can be whomever they want to, and have fun doing it. My daughter identified with Princess Magnolia, as she loves to dress up as a Princess, as well as done a mask, and dress up in cape, and save the day. This is a fantastic book, and one I'd highly recommend picking up. Don't let the beginning reader comment throw you off. This is a fabulous chapter book I think fans of all ages will enjoy. I won't tell you my age, but it's long past the beginning reader stage, and I loved it, and I look forward to reading it again. It's no surprise that it ended up on the New York Times Best Sellers List. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

Perfect Princess Magnolia has a secret—her alter ego is the Princess in Black, a superhero figure who protects the kingdom! When nosy Duchess Wigtower unexpectedly drops by Princess Magnolia's castle, Magnolia must protect her secret identity from the duchess's prying. But then Magnolia's monster alarm, a glitter-stone ring, goes off. She must save the day, leaving the duchess unattended in her castle. After a costume change, the Princess in Black joins her steed, Blacky (public identity: Frimplepants the unicorn), to protect Duff the goat boy and his goats from a shaggy, blue, goat-eating monster. When the monster refuses to see reason, Magnolia fights him, using special moves like the "Sparkle Slam" and the "Twinkle Twinkle Little Smash." The rounded, cartoony illustrations featuring chubby characters keep the fight sequence soft and comical. Watching the fight, Duff notices suspicious similarities between the Princess in Black and Magnolia—quickly dismissed as "a silly idea"—much like the duchess's dismissal of some discovered black stockings as being simply dirty, as "princesses don't wear black." The gently ironic text will amuse readers (including adults reading the book aloud). The large print and illustrations expand the book to a longish-yet-manageable length, giving newly independent readers a sense of accomplishment. The ending hints at another hero, the Goat Avenger. Action, clever humor, delightful illustrations and expectation-defying secret identities—when does the next one come out? Overview Who says princesses don’t wear black? When trouble raises its blue monster head, Princess Magnolia ditches her flouncy dresses and becomes the Princess in Black! Princess Magnolia is having hot chocolate and scones with Duchess Wigtower when . . . Brring! Brring! The monster alarm! A big blue monster is threatening the goats! Stopping monsters is no job for dainty Princess Magnolia. But luckily Princess Magnolia has a secret —she’s also the Princess in Black, and stopping monsters is the perfect job for her! Can the princess sneak away, transform into her alter ego, and defeat the monster before the nosy duchess discovers her secret? From award-winning writing team of Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham, here is the first in a humorous and action-packed chapter book series for young readers who like their princesses not only prim and perfect, but also dressed in black.

This series has become a family favorite. It mixes the world of a princess (castle, dresses, and luxury) and the adventures of the Princess in Black. Will the Princess have time to fight monsters and keep them away?

My toddler loves this book and I really enjoy reading it to her. It is a fun and exciting story, that triggers imagination and is empowering for girls. The book came up in a school moms’ coffee morning and several of the moms recommended it. I’m pleased that they did because it was a great choice. This is a fairly long book so I wasn’t sure I could keep my toddler’s attention to complete the book. I figured we would read this over the span of a few days. However, my daughter was so excited and interested in the story that it maintained her attention to finish the entire book in one sitting. Since then, she has asked for me to read this book several times a week. I appreciate that the story’s theme allows for the reader (or child you are reading it to) to see that the main character can be both a princess and a superhero! The message and the moral of the book are inspiring and I really like that. It’s well written, easy to read and a nice flow. There are some nice illustrations and a brief amount of text on each page, so as you turn through the pages, it keeps the listener’s attention. Will certainly purchase more from this series.

I saw this being promoted last week in a BookRiot e-newsletter and I just had to buy one to check out. Firstly, because the premise is awesome - a princess who battles monsters in order to keep her kingdom safe! Secondly, it was co-authored by Shannon Hale, with her husband Dean Hale. I have read several books by Shannon Hale {The Princess Academy & The Goose Girl are two of my favorites!} and I have loved them. Thirdly, the illustrations are beautiful, energetic and fun! And fourthly, I have a 5 year old niece who has become quite the voracious little reader (SO PROUD), and many other honorary nieces, and I wanted to check this series out as possible gifts for them in the future. This will also be a great introduction to Hale's older age novels. Such a fun little book, and great for kiddos learning to read and want to practice reading aloud. Ages 5-8

I ordered this for my daughter who is almost 6 and an emerging reader. She still greatly prefers books with a lot of pictures and I've been hunting them down. This is our first BIG HIT. The chapters are short, the story is simple and the writing level is just right for her. She could manage the reading level, but doesn't yet have the stamina to get through a lot at a time, so I just had her read the first page of each chapter to me. We finished it in a sitting and she already asked me if she gets to keep it forever (ie, is it a library book). Like a lot of moms, I struggle with princess culture and want to let her love princesses (because she does!), but also encourage her to forge her own path and be an active participant in life (as opposed to being rescued and waiting for a prince.) This book is perfect. She loved the nosy duchess and the line about the goat boy (not half goat and half boy, though that would be interesting), and the silly-named Frimplepants the unicorn. The big problem, as always seems to happen, is that there is ONLY ONE!!! You always hope, when you find a gem like this, that there will already be a series waiting for you. We've already preordered the next one, but I hope the Hales will pick up the pace! A year and a half between installments is killer!

Hi I am 11 years old and I hate reading but this book made reading so much more enjoyable!!! I recommend reading this book to anyone who likes mystery’s, fashion, princess and pink and black!!! I can’t wait to read the next book!!!!!!

This book is broken into chapters of only a hand full of very short pages each, and has pictures on nearly every page. My 3 year old is learning about not finishing a book in one sitting and remembering what has happened in the previous chapters so we read a few chapters per night over 3-5 nights. And older child might enjoy to read it themselves in one or two sittings. The classroom theme at my daughter's daycare is superheros and so she is interested in them, but I like that this hero uses her own skills, not superpowers, to defeat monsters. The monsters are really kind of cute, not creepy or scary; and they get sent away, not killed.

I coudn't believe how quickly I received the book. It is a very nice book that my little girl loves reading. It is a great story to empower girls.

Muy buena pinta el libro. precio genial. A mi hija de 8 le encantan!

子供向けの作品だが、Princess in Black の活躍ぶりにワクワクして、しっかり楽しめた。Duchess Wigtowerが当たり前のように城の中を漁りそれが咎められなかったり、結構な長い時間待ちぼうけでもそれには文句を言わないあたりも面白かった。 英語の勉強がてら手に取ったのだが、可愛らしい絵のおかげでわからない単語の意味を類推しやすかった。英語学習目的でもおすすめです。

The Princess in Black is an absolutely perfect beginning chapter book! My daughter, age 2, has recently become interested in chapter books. We have been working to add new transitional chapter books to our collection for her to enjoy. The Princess in Black was a recent addition and it has quickly become a favourite. We both appreciates the engaging and humorous plot, as well as the colourful and interesting illustrations. I appreciate the dynamic characters, the quality vocabulary, and the varied sentence structure that make The Princess in Black enjoyable to read aloud. I also appreciate the girl-power! I would recommend The Princess in Black as a read-aloud for 2-5 year olds or as a reader for 5-9 year old beginning readers. We can’t wait to read more books in the series!

Scelto tra un elenco suggerito dalla scuola è l'ideale per allenare l'inglese durante l'estate. Acquistato per una bimba di 8 anni. Illustrazioni carine e testo di facile lettura. Le è piaciuto molto e lo ha letto in 2 giorni.