Princess Grace and the Little Lost Kitten

January 15, 2011

Blatantly Disney-esque young princesses with flowing hair, huge eyes and fancy gowns are the linchpin of this new series designed to make the parables Jesus used understandable to today's little girls. Each story in the series focuses on one princess from a family of five sisters (Grace, Joy, Faith, Charity and Hope) being raised by their understanding and indulgent single father, the king. In this story, Princess Grace and her sisters adopt five kittens, and Grace's chosen kitten runs away and is later found hiding in the woods. There isn't much plot, though the long-for-the-format text is told in a relentlessly high-energy if stilted manner. Interestingly, there is no religious content to the story other than a reference to a whispered prayer just before Princess Grace finds her kitten. A concluding page speaking directly to the reader explains the connection between the story and the parable of the lost sheep and is followed by the relevant text from the Book of Matthew in the New Testament. The second title in the Princess Parables series is Princess Joy's Birthday Blessings. Clearly aimed right at the marketing sweet spot, the presentation, with its emphasis on frills and flounces, seems sadly at odds with the homespun simplicity of its putative foundation. (Picture book/religion. 4-7)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)