Our favorite hero for young readers meets new friends and new foes in The Princess in Black and the Mermaid Princess, a delightful addition to the Princess in Black series.
The Princess in Black and the Mermaid Princess
Shannon and Dean Hale with illustrations by LeUyen Pham
Candlewick
February 1, 2022
The Princess in Black and the Mermaid Princess opens with the Princess in Black and her friends, the Princess in Blankets and the Goat Avenger, having a lovely playdate together on a boat at sea. They wonder if they’ll see any sea monsters, or even a mermaid this trip. (Spoiler: they do!)
Avid readers of The Princess in Black series will know that the Princess in Black, the Princess in Blankets, and the Goat Avenger are the heroic alter-egos of Princess Magnolia, who generally wears pink; Princess Sneezewort, who generally does not wear blankets; and Duff the Goat Boy, who generally takes care of goats in a non-avenging manner. Authors Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrator LeUyen Pham aim the series at readers ages 5-8, and thus the secret identities of the characters are consistently played for laughs and empowerment.
Empowerment is at the fore in this volume as our protagonists meet a mermaid princess, Princess Posy, who worries that her sea goats are imperiled by kraken. Since the Princess in Black and her friends have a lot of experience defending goats from monsters on land, they offer to help but quickly realize that fighting underwater calls for a skill set they don’t have. Princess Posy does have those skills, but she is worried about fighting to defend her sea goats and her kingdom because she knows a princess should be nice. Our protagonists assure her that protecting those who rely on her is indeed nice, and with some encouragement, she is able to stand up for herself and her sea goats.
As always, LeUyen Pham’s illustrations are a joy, lushly conveying both the parallels and differences between princess life above ground and below the water. Princess Posy may have the same priorities as the other princesses, but when it comes to fighting the kraken, her battle moves are all new. She’s the one who is qualified to be responsible for this situation.
The series has been coming out at a rate of roughly one book a year since 2014, with The Princess in Black and the Mermaid Princess the ninth book in the series. Coincidentally, my kid was born in 2014, and we received The Princess in Black as a baby gift. She’s been reading the series her whole life. For “Character Day” in Kindergarten, she dressed up as Princess Magnolia. Now that she’s on the cusp of aging out of the intended readership for the series and already enjoys other work by the Hales, I still plan to get each new Princess in Black book as it comes out. The Princess in Black and the Mermaid Princess is a good indication that the series will be timeless, and that eventually, my kid will probably age right back into appreciating them along with me.
