The Princess in Black must rely on the sparkly, party-saving help of a new friend: The Prince in Pink.
The Princess in Black must rely on the sparkly, party-saving help of a new friend: The Prince in Pink.
Like any princess worth her salt, Princess Magnolia likes a good party. And the Flower Festival Ball—held by Princess Snapdragon—is one of the best. So, Magnolia and her horse Frimplepants load up a cart of decorations and set out to help make the ball a smashing success.
Princess Magnolia also happens to be the masked do-gooder Princess in Black. But she kinda keeps that secret persona hidden unless an emergency breaks out. Besides, the Princess in Black is more about managing baddies than she is about mirror balls, so her Magnolia side is best for the current situation.
But wouldn’t you know it, just as Princess Magnolia swings into decoration-hanging mode, a large marauding emu crashes the party and starts smashing things left and right.
What is Magnolia to do? She can’t fight off an emu in her party dress. Besides, there’s no place to change!
Fortunately, a knight in shining armor, Prince Valarian, steps forward to push the rampaging emu back out the gates. Everyone is incredibly grateful for his bravery.
However, now Princess Magnolia is in an even bigger fix. That naughty emu smashed all her decorations. Whatever will she do?!
Psst. Here’s another secret, though. Little does Princess Magnolia realize but her new friend Prince Valarian has a secret side, too. With a quick costume change and a donned mask, he becomes … The Prince in Pink. And that side of him is super great at decorations.
A bit of ribbon, a dash of sparkles and a few snip-snips of the Prince in Pink’s scissors and the party woes are a thing of the past.
None.
This kid’s book, like the other books in the series, is all about making new friends. And they focus on the fact that people can have different sides and skill sets that we don’t always see. (This book says that even the “bad guys” can be more than we give them credit for.)
When Emu and her Ostrich Twins friends come crashing back to threaten the party a second time, the Princess in Black and her other alter-egoed princess friends, are ready for them. And the book suggests that relying on the strengths of others can help make a big problem manageable—which is exactly what the Prince in Pink helped show Magnolia, too.
We also find out, however, that Emu and the Ostrich Twins simply felt left out. And after a while, the Princess in Black figures out how to save the party while making that Bird Herd happy, as well. Everyone learns a good lesson.
No nastiness other than some misguided actions on Emu’s part when she lashes out and smashes things rather than communicate clearly.
There are no comments made about sexuality or gender in this story. However, many will see (and the authors surely intended) Prince Valarian’s sparkling, girlish alter ego—who wears an all-pink sequined outfit and a tiara—to be winking at effeminate sexuality or the normalization of that identification. That said, if this is an area you wish to wade into, parental guidance can also direct young readers and clarify the book’s message about friends who have different sides and skills than what we might expect.
Have you ever met someone who turned out to be very different than you thought they were at first? How did you react? Are there things about you, or skills you have, that people are sometimes surprised about?
Take a look at Proverbs 17:17, Psalms 133:1 and 1 Thessalonians 5:11. What do you think those verses are telling us about friendship and about caring for people around us? What do you think makes someone a good friend, a helpful friend? Are you a helpful friend? Why?
Get free discussion question for books at focusonthefamily.com/magazine/thriving-family-book-discussion-questions.
Like all the Princess in Black books, this is a story about friendship. But this particular entry in the series can also be easily used to deliver some adult commentary on gender issues.
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Review by Bob Hoose
