This month you’ll see the wonderful range of re-branded paperback editions of nine Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks books filling the shelves at book stores, make sure you check them out because your children are guaranteed to love the rhyming stories and who can resist glitter on every page!
Julia Donaldson is well known as the author of The Gruffalo, while Lydia Monks’ beautifully vibrant illustrations are featured in each book in this range too. Donaldson has a remarkable way of crafting unique stories that grab the attention of little ones, and Princess Mirror-Belle and the Dragon Pox became a favourite for storytime from the first time we read it together.
Ellen has got chicken pox, and is given strict instructions from her mom that she mustn’t scratch the spots. Ellen’s reflection, on the other hand, has a different diagnosis, and she’s not afraid to share it with Ellen as she climbs right out of the bathroom mirror!
She’s Princess Mirror-Belle, and she’s quite certain that Ellen actually has dragon pox. Even better is that she has lots of messy ideas of how to cure this pesky illness. This leads to a series of hilarious events where Princess Mirror-Belle teaches Ellen about bubble fish, fairies who clean your teeth, a very long beard, and hair that doesn’t need a wash just a magic spell. The result? Wet toothpasty bubbles, a lost slipper found, and a slightly better spot on the nose!
Amy loved reading this story, and the fun and colourful illustrations helped to bring the story to life. I also enjoyed seeing the small nods to the other titles in the series, keep a close eye out for the ladybird, and unicorn drawings on Ellen’s wall and the drawings of a mermaid and three friends sharing a shell on the bathroom wall. Beautiful sparkling glitter is featured on the book’s cover, and also on every page, making this a book your children will want to lean in and touch too.
Princess Mirror-Bell and the Dragon Pox is available at a recommended retail price of R145 from bookstores and online retailers now. It’s recommended for children aged 3 to 7 years.
Make sure you also check out Sharing a Shell, The Princess and the Wizard, The Rhyming Rabbit, The Singing Mermaid, Sugarlump and the Unicorn, What the Ladybird Heard, What the Ladybird Heard Next and What the Ladybird Heard on Holiday.
Thanks to Pan Macmillan South Africa for letting us share in this glittery fun story, thank goodness we didn’t catch the Dragon Pox too!
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