“Sir Princess Petra”by Diane Mae Robinson is a fun fairy tale for 4th to 6th graders and I am sure they will love it. The heroine, Petra, is a feisty young lady who is constantly driving her poor father to check the official royal rulebook since she pushes things to the limits. She surprises everyone by qualifying to become a Knight and in the process making friends with the frightening dragon Snarl. She also bests the pizza-faced witch and Nastybun and his puny knights and stops the howling dragon from howling without resorting to her sword. Onions and saucepans and other unusual implements play a key role in her victories, just one of the many humorous touches in this extremely likeable book. Another sweet part is where the witch has forgotten how to say the word ‘please’.

Although it is a fairy tale, there is substance to the story. At its heart is an unconventional heroine who constantly has to face up to the rules that everyone else accepts blindly. Petra does things her way and with panache. But she is scared at times and this is well-portrayed. Petra accepts her limitations, like the rules, but works either within or around them. There is a strong sense of right and wrong and fairness in the book, which is quite a pleasant change. Too often parents are unreasonable and stupid in children’s books, but here the king and queen allow their daughter the freedom to go and try and fight a dragon, and, since the rules permit it, eventually allow her to have Snarl as her royal steed. Pen Pieyu isn’t a bad place to live at all! This is a bright and breezy book, buoyed up by its humor and general pleasantness. Lovely illustrations too.