The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party

This sequel to The Princess in Black (2014) finds Magnolia preparing for her birthday party. The castle is festooned with pink balloons, she's wearing her favorite fluffy dress and glass slippers, the pink frosted cupcakes are ready, and the invited princess guests are all en route. Then the monster alarm sounds, sending Magnolia into Princess in Black mode. She changes clothes; mounts her faithful pony, Blacky (aka Frimplepants the unicorn); and rides off to defeat a tentacled monster threatening her friend Duff's goats. Eventually, the party resumes, but the monsters repeatedly interrupt, resulting in an out-of-breath heroine, clothing askew, attempting to explain her absences to the none-too-clever guests. Pham's Disney-esque illustrations work nicely to contrast the simplistically perfect party guests with the multidimensional and multitalented PIB. Particularly effective are Magnolia's hilarious eye rolls as she rushes from crisis to crisis, becoming more and more disheveled. Keeping the world safe from monsters is a daunting task. And only the PIB can accomplish this while throwing the perfect party! Expect high demand.--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2015 Booklist

K-Gr 3-Everyone's favorite princess-cum-superhero returns to defend her kingdom in Shannon and Dean Hale's follow-up to the hit Princess in Black (Candlewick, 2014). The charming Princess Magnolia prepares for her birthday party by frosting cupcakes, decorating the house, and even festooning her trusty steed, Frimplepants, with a bow on his unicorn horn (albeit a fake horn, as readers will likely remember that he sheds it to become Blacky). As she excitedly awaits her guests-12 sparkly attired and ethnically diverse princesses riding on various animals-her monster alarm sounds. Donning her ninja-esque, kingdom-saving outfit, she narrowly escapes detection by partygoers before vanquishing hungry goat-eating monsters, returning just in time to welcome her fellow royal friends through the castle gates. But before she can settle in for tea and open her presents, Magnolia's monster alarm blares again. And so begins a comical back-and-forth as Magnolia tries desperately to keep her never-ending monster battling under wraps while keeping her princess pals in the dark about her true identity. The delightfully awkward Princess Sneezewort suspects something is up, as each time Magnolia returns, something about her is slightly amiss-shoes on the wrong feet, branches in her hair, an inside-out dress. When the Princess in Black loses her cool with the umpteenth monster emergency, will her cover be blown? VERDICT Princess and adventure fans alike will clamor for an invite to this not-so-perfect but oh-so-entertaining party.-Amy M. Laughlin, Darien Library, CT © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

At her birthday party, Princess Magnolia's monster alarm goes off repeatedly, so she must don her disguise to rid the goat pasture of monsters and keep her guests entertained and unsuspecting. The second book about the tough, unflappable princess who's at home in both pink and black has the right mix of humor, adventure, and bravery--all captured expertly in Pham's illustrations. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Princess Magnolia's perfect birthday party's threatened by constant monster alarms, summoning her secret identity again and again. Prim, proper Princess Magnolia is all decked out in her pink finery, awaiting the arrival of a dozen ethnically diverse fellow-princess party guests for her birthday when her monster-alarm ring goes off. She changes attire and personas, becoming the heroic Princess in Black. Working swiftly, she saves a goat from a hungry monster and gets back to her palace in time to welcome her guests. But just when she thinks she's in the clear and ready to open her presents, off goes her monster-alarm ring again! This patternMagnolia is just about to open presents when her alarm goes off, she comes up with a distraction for the princesses, defeats a monster, and returns just in timecontinues through the book. It's enhanced by visual gags, such as Magnolia's increasingly flustered appearance, and hilarious depictions of the various ways monsters try to eat goats, from between giant pieces of bread to in a giant ice cream cone. A side character, the fittingly named Princess Sneezewort, frequently comes close to discovering Magnolia's secret. In the end, Magnolia can't take the constant interruptions anymore, yelling at a monster that it's her birthdaythe monster, abashed, ends up helping her in one last distraction for the other princesses. A chuckle-inducing, entirely worthy stand-alone follow-up to the terrific The Princess in Black (2014). (Fantasy. 5-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

This sequel to The Princess in Black (2014) finds Magnolia preparing for her birthday party. The castle is festooned with pink balloons, she's wearing her favorite fluffy dress and glass slippers, the pink frosted cupcakes are ready, and the invited princess guests are all en route. Then the monster alarm sounds, sending Magnolia into "Princess in Black" mode. She changes clothes; mounts her faithful pony, Blacky (aka Frimplepants the unicorn); and rides off to defeat a tentacled monster threatening her friend Duff's goats. Eventually, the party resumes, but the monsters repeatedly interrupt, resulting in an out-of-breath heroine, clothing askew, attempting to explain her absences to the none-too-clever guests. Pham's Disney-esque illustrations work nicely to contrast the simplistically perfect party guests with the multidimensional and multitalented PIB. Particularly effective are Magnolia's hilarious eye rolls as she rushes from crisis to crisis, becoming more and more disheveled. Keeping the world safe from monsters is a daunting task. And only the PIB can accomplish this while throwing the perfect party! Expect high demand. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

K-Gr 3—Everyone's favorite princess-cum-superhero returns to defend her kingdom in Shannon and Dean Hale's follow-up to the hit Princess in Black (Candlewick, 2014). The charming Princess Magnolia prepares for her birthday party by frosting cupcakes, decorating the house, and even festooning her trusty steed, Frimplepants, with a bow on his unicorn horn (albeit a fake horn, as readers will likely remember that he sheds it to become Blacky). As she excitedly awaits her guests—12 sparkly attired and ethnically diverse princesses riding on various animals—her monster alarm sounds. Donning her ninja-esque, kingdom-saving outfit, she narrowly escapes detection by partygoers before vanquishing hungry goat-eating monsters, returning just in time to welcome her fellow royal friends through the castle gates. But before she can settle in for tea and open her presents, Magnolia's monster alarm blares again. And so begins a comical back-and-forth as Magnolia tries desperately to keep her never-ending monster battling under wraps while keeping her princess pals in the dark about her true identity. The delightfully awkward Princess Sneezewort suspects something is up, as each time Magnolia returns, something about her is slightly amiss—shoes on the wrong feet, branches in her hair, an inside-out dress. When the Princess in Black loses her cool with the umpteenth monster emergency, will her cover be blown? VERDICT Princess and adventure fans alike will clamor for an invite to this not-so-perfect but oh-so-entertaining party.—Amy M. Laughlin, Darien Library, CT