Recent Reads - Princess Zaara and the Enchanted Forest

Princess Zaara and the Enchanted Forest, by Umbreen Asghar

 4 of 5 Stars

Buy It:  Amazon  /  Barnes & Noble

Genre:   Children's

Pages:  36

Publication:  9/24/2009, BookSurge Publishing

Why I Chose It:  I was given a copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis (from Good Reads):   A captivating and magical tale, Princess Zaara and the Enchanted Forest, by children’s author Umbreen Asghar is the sort of tale that sparks the imagination and fuels a child’s curiosity. With lavish, highly stylized illustrations by Diane Lucas, this beginning children’s book introduces a curious Spanish princess named Zaara. She’s seven and the only thing she wants in the whole wide kingdom is to explore the forest that is just beyond her empire, so when she gets a chance, she jumps at it.

She discovers that the forest is all she has ever heard or dreamed about, and there in the mesmerizing dark folds, keeping her royal lineage a secret, she makes friends. They’re a curious lot. There’s Morgan the Giant, Elvin the Elf, Banji the Bear and Tiffany-Annabel, all who bring something special to the group. When an evil wood spirit puts a spell on her new pals, Zaara shows courage and tenacity befitting the best sort of princess—the kind that is a friend first.

My Review:  I read a lot of children's books. Mostly with my 8yo neice Kylie who adores reading as much as I do. Before I read it, I gave it to her to read alone so that I could get her opinion. She read it, loved it, then demanded that I read it with her.

The first thing that caught her eye was the illustrations, which she thought were beautiful. The story line itself kept her attention even the second time we read it and she particularly liked the fairy Tiffany-Annabel.

There were a few large words here and there that younger children might have trouble with. And I personally am thrown off whenever dialogue tags precede the actual words spoken as they do in this book, but Kylie didn't seem to mind.

I probably would have given it a 3.5, but I'm going to defer to Kylie's judgement and give it a 4.0 as she is the intended audience.

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