Book Review: The Princess and the Pizza by Mary Jane Auch

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Fun story and likable main character

Cons: The rest of the cast is rather mean

The Bottom Line:

A new fairy tale

With references to the old

Makes it so much fun

Pizza Can Save Your Life

While there are many classic fairytales, there is no limit to the new twists on the genre that people can come up with.  I recently found The Princess and the Pizza at my local library, and I enjoyed it.

Princess Paulina has had her life turned upside down thanks to her father giving up his throne to be a wood carver.  But she sees her chances to get back to princessing when a contest is announced to win Prince Drupert's hand in marriage.  There are several rounds to the competition with Queen Zelda judging them.  But when it comes to preparing a meal, Paulina is left with the worst ingredients.  With her life on the line, can she create a winning dish?

Those familiar with the classic fairytales will certainly find much to smile about here.  There are direct references to several of them, and Paulina's reaction to those characters is great fun.

Princess Paulina herself is a good main character.  She's likable and easy to root for.  I know I wanted to see her come out on top at the end.

Unfortunately, she is surrounded by a cast I don't like that much.  Granted, we're not supposed to like them and these characters drive the story, but it would be nice to see them in a decent light at some point in the course of the story.  Still, the humor outweighs the cons on this one.

The illustrations are good.  They're full of color and are just cartoony enough to capture the funny spirit of the story.  You can't help but smile as you look at some of them.

While a picture book, my library doesn't classify it as an easy reader, and I would tend to agree.  The character's names alone would make it hard for someone new to reading to get through on their own.  However, as a read aloud, this one would be a huge hit.

So I recommend it for kids and parents to enjoy together.  You'll enjoy learning about The Princess and the Pizza.