Review: Sir Princess Petra's Mission by Diane Mae Robinson

SIR PRINCESS PETRA'S MISSION

The Pen Pieyu Adventures, Book 3

by Diane Mae Robinson

Tate Publishing

Middle Grade Fantasy

106 pages 

Ages 8+

Sir Princess Petra has already attained her knighthood in the Kingdom of Pen Pieyu and her non-princess-like talent certificate from Talent School, neither of which pleases her father and mother, the king and queen. The king writes up more silly rules in the royal rule book to deter Sir Princess Petra from her knightly ways and useless talent, and turn her into a real princess once and for all. Will the king finally succeed with this newly written, ridiculous mission for Petra?

MY TIDBITS

I did read the first two books in the series and enjoyed them thoroughly. But even if one doesn't have the chance to grab the rest of the series first, they'll still have no trouble getting into this story. The author was kind enough to put a quick summary of each of the other books in before this one begins. There's also a cute map in the beginning to help the reader get a feel for Sir Princess Petra's world.

This was a cute continuation of the series. Sir Princess Petra has proven in the last stories that she is a princess worthy of knighthood. Still, she's not off the hook yet. The story starts with cute, ridiculous humor and sets the tone perfectly for the rest of the book. I had to giggle at the King's proclamation, but at the same time, felt a bit of frustration for poor Petra that she would, once again, have to show that she has the right to be a knight. 

Fun, whimsical characters with great personalities dabble through-out Petra's adventure. Around every corner, she runs into situations which made me smile while still maintaining enough tension to keep the plot thickening. Her sweetness and determination makes it impossible not to love her and hope she can again prove everyone wrong. Yep, this book calls for a girl power cheer-squad!

There are many warm messages wrapped up in this plot, ones perfect for middle graders. Patience, perseverance, understanding, determination, and self-assurance are mixed with the importance of friends and having compassion. But this is by no means a boring story where meanings poke out like daggers. The main focus in this story is simply lovely fun and humor. And what kid can resist that?

Summed up, this is a lovely story about a very spunky princess who is brave and tons of fun. I highly recommend it especially to girls ages 8 and up.