Review - The Princess and the Pit Stop

The Princess and the Pit Stop
by Tom Angleberger
illustrated by Dan Santat
Date: 2018
Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 48
Format: e-book
Source: library

Once upon a time there was a Princess . . .
. . . who made a pit stop.
While the Birds and Beasts changed her tires, her Fairy Godmother told her she was in last place! With just one lap left! She might as well give up!
Give up? Not THIS princess! Instead, she hit the gas!

Join Her Royal Highness in the driver’s seat for a mad dash to the finish in this exciting ode to auto racing. With appearances by fairy tale favorites including the Tortoise and the Hare, the Frog Prince, and ALL of the Wicked Witches, this rollicking mash-up of race cars and royalty is a true celebration of both girl power and horsepower.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I'm not quite sure how to rate this one. As stories go, it's really thin. The gimmick is the fairy tale characters that the princess passes on her way to the finish line. The verbs are all tied in with their respective characters, which is cute (e.g., she leapt past the rabbits, spun out Rumpelstiltskin, charged past the knight, etc.). The ending made me smile (I won't spoil it for you, but it involves yet another fairy tale character).

The illustrations are probably the best part of the book. Though the style is a bit different, the plays on words and the colourful landscape (and the subject matter) really reminded me of Wreck-It Ralph, only not as Disney-fied.

So, this was entertaining enough for a quick read, but it doesn't seem like something you'd want to read again and again... unless you like looking at the pictures. The book seems more like a gimmick than a real story.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.5 out of 5