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The Princess and the Pony | September 16, 2015

by Kate Beaton (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, June 2015)

Anyone who’s familiar with Kate Beaton’s work, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Hark! A Vagrant!, knows just what to expect from her picture book debut: something different, funny, and truly fantastic. And they will not be disappointed.

Princess Pinecone hails from a fantasy kingdom packed with wonderful anachronistic elements such as a bespectacled hipster king, a fist-bumping knight, and a multicultural cast of characters, including our mixed-race heroine. Pinecone happens to be the smallest warrior in all the land, but that doesn’t stop her from having big dreams: like the noble stead she’s really hoping to get for her birthday. As you probably guessed, she gets a pony instead. And while it seems more appropriate for her age and size, the pony clearly isn’t what she had in mind. She thinks it’s too small, too round, and that its eyes are looking in different directions. “But you can’t say no to a birthday present,” so Princess Pinecone does what she can to prepare her new friend for the important upcoming battle. The big day arrives in a few quick page turns, but Pinecone now seems a little more intimidated than she had previously let on, and when she comes face to face with Otto the Awful, it’s actually the pony who comes to the rescue in the most unexpected way.

This smart, subversive, and hilarious gem of a book promises to be the first in a long career of outstanding children’s books from Beaton.

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