Review of Sir Princess Petra’s Mission by Diane Mae Robinson

This is a tale, or rather, a fairy tale, about courage, dignity, honesty and self-esteem. This is also a story for children and parents who want to learn how better to grow up their children. I am discussing about Sir Princess Petra’s Mission , the third book by awarded Canadian author Diane Mae Robinson. This work is included in the series titled The Pen Pieyu Adventures. The plot of this new story keeps the same high  levels of the previous ones, even though here it is enriched with quirky and amazing twists that make the fairy tale much more gripping and fun.

The background is very similar because the main character of the tale is always little princess Petra, who, unlike what her father wants, desires to become a brave royal knight instead of a girl princess. In order to deter his daughter to undertake the career as a knight of the Kingdom of Pen Pieyu, the king writes silly rules on the royal book that an aspiring knight must perform to gain just the title of royal knight. This time, the rule is really silly because she, alone, should capture a car-panther in the unventured land of the Boogy Gobees. Although the contrary opinion of her father, the princess does the mission together with her steed, Snarl the dragon, and her friend Bograt,  the bog witch. From this stage, the fairy tale takes a very fun and compelling twist capable to conquer any kind of reader.

From a side, there is Snarl, the dragon that, fearing of being eaten by a car-panther, loses the skill to emit fire streams from the mouth, from another side, there are the new friends Petra finds in the ominous and mysterious land of the Boogy Gobees. But it is just from the weakness of the dragon that the author builds a very compelling story with several turns of events that have also an underlying meaning, namely: never lose courage. “ Believe in yourself” is the chant Petra sings to encourage her friend to spit streams of fire and Believe in yourself is the message that the author turns to those parents who fear to not be good parents.

At last, thanks to an amazing capacity to twist the plot, the author conveys another important message, namely that honour and courage are worth more than a mission to become a knight.  Furthermore, some stages of the book are superbly hilarious  such as, for instance, the startled king who slips out of the throne and the always silent queen who faints before saying a word. In the story, the real winner is, seemingly, the princess, but in reality they are the real ethical values of life.

Especially in this troubled modern world and thanks to literary works like this, children can learn about courage, honesty, dignity and true friendship. But, above all, on the basis of the plot, children can learn about the importance of equality between males and females, men and women and among all people. The princess, indeed, does not want only to be a princess, but also a girl with a brain and a talent and a more engaging role.

This book is, hence, a very educational work to fight imposed rules and roles, prejudices and useless competition. The plot is also seasoned with proper images that describe the several chapters and with a vibrant writing style that, once again, confirms Diane Mae Robinson as the best author of children’s fairy tales .

For more information about this writer and The Pen Pieyu Adventures series  read the press release and the review on Sir Princess Petra’s Talent.

Rosalba Mancuso

Rosalba Mancuso is the journalist, born in Sicily, who founded three online magazines in English. On Advicebooks Book Reviews, Rosalba shows her great passion for books, helping readers and book lovers choose and buy the best books she read and reviewed. She also worked as a contributor to print and online magazines and as a bilingual Italian-English writer. Here, Rosalba also offers room to authors and publishers who want to get their books reviewed through the voice of an avid reader like her. You must also know that this book review magazine lives thanks to your help. Rosalba, in fact, earns a small commission, with no cost for you, when you buy books through the affiliate links you find in her book reviews. This book review magazine is also funded by services of editorial reviews and book press releases.