Great Read Aloud for the Whole Family

Today I have a book that is either a wonderful read aloud or a fabulous early chapter book.  Whichever way you present it to your kids, however, it will be a hit.  This one is laugh out loud funny and the humor will engage the adults every bit as much as the kids.  Ohh ... I like it when that happens.

Don't forget to Follow One Great Book on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or by email so that you don't miss a single story where quick witted humor is the name of the game.

And if you find reading this post way too perilous for your health, check out my One Minute Book Talk at the end of this post so you can sit back in comfort while I tell you about this book.  No more reading required.

Title: The Perilous Princess Plot

Author: Sarah Courtauld

Target: Grades 3-5

Series: No

What this book is about: 

Eliza and Lavender are sister who live in the Middle of Nowhere - literally.  It is actually called the Middle of Nowhere.  Lavender has one interest, being a princess.  Eliza has many interest, but we don’t know what those are since she does all the chores while Lavender plays at, you guessed it, being a princess.  One day Lavender decides to run off in search of her prince and gets kidnapped by the evil Mordmont who mistakes her for a real princess.  It is up to Eliza and her trusty stead Gertrude, who did I mention happens to be a goat, to save Lavender.  Well, good luck with that.

Why I love this book:

• Oh, this one is funny, and I don’t mean a chuckle here and there funny, I mean smart, silly, even adults can’t keep a straight face funny.

• The creativity abounds in this story.  Think bedtime stories that end in death and mayhem, sisters who save the day and singing that will take you to new heights of revulsion.  

• The language choices in this story are brilliant.  If you want to expose your child to a broad and interesting vocabulary, this book will have them using vanquish, pluck, calamity and chasm and those are just from the first chapter!

• This book won oodles of award in the UK, and those folks know funny.

Who this book is for: 

Please don’t let the Princess in the title dissuade you from selling or reading this book to boys.  This story falls squarely in the anyone will enjoy it category.  It makes an incredible read aloud or simply read the first chapter to your kids and they will be clamoring for the more.  Well, you might be too.  You have been warned. 

Final thoughts: 

I really wish they hadn’t changed the name from Buckle and Squash and the Monstrous Moat Dragon when it was published in the UK.  I mean come on, who doesn’t love a a good moat dragon and a monstrous one at that!

To purchase this book:

Click on the following link to connect to Amazon: Buckle and Squash: The Perilous Princess Plot  A portion of each purchase will go to support this blog at no cost to you.  Thank you for your support.

One Minute Book Talk