Primrose by Alex T. Smith

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Scholastic, 2013. ISBN 9781407109664.
(Age: 4+) Warmly recommended. Princesses. Fun. Family. When Princess Primrose gets out into the garden to pull vegetables, her parents are aghast, when she goes into the kitchen to cook, the chef shoos her out, when she climbs a tree in the orchard, her father tells her to get down and behave like a real princess, and when she plays with her dog, Percy, in her bedroom, Mum shrieks and makes her wear proper princess clothes. All in all, Primrose would rather be in old clothes, getting dirty and having fun, so her parents decide to call Grandmama for help.
Grandmama is stiff and starched, a very proper old woman but she has a surprise in store for the king and queen. She orders the king to climb the tree in the orchard and there he spies the old tea house and remembers his childhood days spent there. She orders the king and queen to change their clothes and help pull the vegetables, to play board games, to mess around in the kitchen, and generally to have fun, a concept they seem to have forgotten.
This delightful turn of events will engage younger readers who will laugh at the antics of the family in trying to get back to their childhoods and have a good laugh instead of obeying the rules and protocols in place in the palace.
Fran Knight

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