The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale

I first found out about this book at a writer’s conference. Shannon read a little excerpt from it, and I instantly thought my son would love it. Here is a story about a “perfect” princess who seems dainty and in need of saving, but she’s actually…wait for it…The Princess in Black! She’s a monster fighting princess who inspires others simply by doing. She’s a super hero who my kids can relate to.

So I bought the book for my birthday (yes, for my birthday), and the day it came in the mail, I read it to my son. He was hesitant at first, because he wanted me to read one of his already favorite books. I promised to read that one to him after, and despite his grumpiness (hey, he’s three), I started to read. 

My son went silent, captivated from the first page. The voice in the book is not only darling, but daring, adventurous, and funny. My husband, an avid reader like myself, kept looking up from cooking dinner (isn’t he awesome?) and chuckled over the awesome dialogue and adventurous story. My husband even looked through the book later on his own because he missed out on the incredible illustrations.

“The Princess in Black” captivated my whole family. It’s a great transition book from picture books to chapter books, and it’s something we can read again and again. We look forward to adding the rest of this series to our book collection as well. This book is totally better than chocolate.