School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2The Second Princess, with her straight red hair, thinks the curly fair-haired First Princess gets better treatment and schemes to get rid of her so she can be number one. But Gray Wolf won't eat her, and Brown Bear won't marry her. The greedy palace cook, however, in exchange for all the Queen's jewels, promises to help. While the Second Princess is rifling through her mother's jewel boxes, she is discovered and marched off to the throne room for an explanation, which she is too ashamed to give. The kindly Queen soon discovers her younger daughter's secret desire, and proclaims that the princesses will alternate days of being first throughout the week, and on Sundays the whole family will be first together, a gentle balm to the pangs of sibling rivalry. The writing is easy and expressive, with a vivid vocabulary and a rhythmic swing, excellent qualities for reading aloud. The bright watercolor cartoons, with a few lines of text beneath, are entertaining and lively.Patricia Pearl Dole, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
In a weak spoof on fairy tales, a second child -- tired of always being second -- attempts to get rid of her older sister, until her parents decide she can be first for three days each week. The zany humor is geared toward older picture-book readers, who will enjoy the lively watercolor and line cartoon-style paintings. From HORN BOOK 1994, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 4-6. In this clever little story, the Second Princess isn't happy with her position and longs to be First Princess. She invites the Gray Wolf to gobble up her sister, but the elegant wolf (dressed in blue blazer and gray flannels) finds such a request distasteful. A brown bear is not interested either, but the cook will do it for all the queen's jewels, provoking the Second Princess into a jewel heist. Her parents catch her in the crime and then worm the reason for it out of their daughter. With Solomonic wisdom, the King declares that the Second Princess will be first on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays; the First Princess will be first on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays; and on Sundays, "we'll all be first." Younger siblings will warm to both the story and its solution as well as enjoy all the wacky humor that goes along with Ross' familiar, scrawly art. Parents may like the King's solution for distilling sibling rivalry. ~--Ilene Cooper
