Wendy Orr, Lauren Stringer'sThe Princess and Her Panther [Hardcover](2010) Hardcover – January 1, 2010

Perfect "Big Sister" book. Adorable illustrations. Well written. My kids love the repetition

Let me start by saying, I have 5 kids, therefore we read ALOT of children's books. I'm rather choosy though. So often we are passed a book that is just twaddle, it's poorly written, has bad grammar, and a foolish, totally useless storyline. Those books get ditched into the trash can as quickly as possible.BUT THIS BOOK! wow! we just stumbled across it at the library! Now it is on my homeschool wishlist. Its a book I can feel good about reading to the kids over and over. It is a very well written, stimulating storyline, with actual literature like qualities. It deals with the imagination and emotions of two very different (but not so different) sisters, and their adventure around the world (ehem, in their backyard).It isn't so climactic that my kids run away in tears, but it has just enough excitement to be interesting. And the writing is GOOD. Great rhyming and meter through a good portion of the book. Repeated phrases for emphasis and flow. Some bigger words that don't dumb down the story. (Though even my 2 year old sits mesmerized through the whole story, over and over again.) Excellent resolution in the end. A good book for teaching plot, climax, resolution and other basic literature terms. Like I said, NOT TWADDLE.The artistry is fantastic. I have sold paintings before, and consider myself to be something of an artist... and these paintings are excellent quality. They depict the story well, and provide an excellent use of color and line (brush stroke)for eliciting emotions. They really add to the quality of the story.All in all, everyone in my family likes this book ages 30 something down to 9months. A good bet when you want to add something of value to your home library, that you won't mind reading over and over again. On the level of "Good Night Moon" and "Guess How Much I Love You"... among others.

The princess and the panther, who were actually sisters, were planning a big journey across "the desert sand." The princess had loaded up her camel with sleeping bags, cushy pillows, and of course, a book and a teddy bear. The princess was bold and brave, but alas the panther cuddled her stuffed bunny and looked a little frightened. Once they arrived at their destination, the panther "drank from the waters of a wide blue lake" and the brave princess "pitched her red silk tent." The slight tilt of her crown and the look of confidence on the princess's face told everyone that their adventure would be a good one.The sun began to set and the puffy golden clouds soon darkened and "the world turned black" as night fell. Of course "The princess was brave, and the panther tried to be." The lantern was lit and the princess began to read from her "Praise for Princess Stories," but the panther's face grew weary with worry. They nestled down on top of their sleeping bags as they got ready for sleep, but the panther's lip began to curl outward as she held her bunny and the teddy bear close to her chest. Soon the princess and the panther "heard a soft, slow shivering, a hiss-hiss slippering of leaf-snakes slithering across their tent in the night. Would they be able to be brave in the face of this danger? Would panther even try?This is a delightful, imaginative story of a "princess and her panther" camping out in their backyard. Of course the two sisters have overactive imaginations, but the younger sister (panther) is not so sure that traveling across a desert and setting up a red silk tent and braving the wild is such a good idea. The older sister (princess) is brimming with confidence and makes the adventure come alive. The "desert" is the sandbox, the "wide blue lake" is the kiddie pool, and the "deep woods" is a tree in the back yard. The only thing missing from the tale was a queen peeking out from the window of the yellow clapboard house. The bold, bright art acrylic artwork caught every little nuance on panther's face, so much so that I could almost hear her gasp when the "leaf-snakes" slithered across the tent. This is a fun, imaginative tale that every little princess who has a panther for a sister should consider!

The Princess and Her Panther is a great little story of imagination. Two sisters decide to camp out in the backyard and are scared by things like giant frog monsters and snarling wolf dogs. They try very hard to be brave and in the end decide that enough is enough, scattering all of these "backyard monsters" and settling down in their tent for the night. High on imagination and scary thrills, this makes a great read aloud. The story flows seamlessly and is aided by the repeating refrain of how brave the Princess is and how the Panther is trying. This is something kids can easily identify with. The illustrations are bright and distinct and complement the text. The perfect length only completes the package of a great read aloud and one that is going into my permanent story time collection. Solid recommend for preschool and kindergarten groups.