Princess Betony and the Hobgoblin by Pamela Freeman
Published by Walker Books
WARNING DO NOT TAKE MILK FROM A HOBGOBLIN!
This is another exciting Princess Betony adventure and I found it charming and engaging.
Thanks to Lady Pineal (what a name, it’s perfect – I think I will bestow the title on my own gland) the hobgoblins are not happy. Their nightly bowl of milk has been taken away by Pineal when Rosie the gardener visits her family. The hobgoblins are taking revenge by blocking drains and creating mayhem. With Rosie gone, it is up to Betony to try and placate the little mischief-makers. She tracks one down in a series of underground complicated mazes of hobgoblin burrows only to have him wrenched upwards by her father and kept in a cage. Sometimes it is not easy living in a magical kingdom, princesses can be tracked through a magical map.
Betony feels terrible and the hobgoblin is on a hunger strike. Fellow hobgoblins are popping up in droves and this is a bit scary! Betony works hard to make amends and the Battle of The Milk Bowl is averted when Rosie comes home and negotiates milk and BREAD to be left for the hungry critters.
The novel is smattered with simple gentle line drawings of scenes and characters. The text is tight, fast paced and Freeman is gently humourous and light hearted. To live in magical harmony we have to look after our magical creatures.
It’s a lovely book for early reading girls especially those attempting their first reader novel – an excellent bridge to middle reading. Betony is a new styled magical royal with a sense of compassion and is not afraid of getting her hands dirty! She even has her own website. You can visit at www.princessbetony.com for extra stories, games and illustrations.
CKT Book Reviewer
Author: Pamela Freeman
Illustrator: Tamsin Ainslie
Title: Princess Betony and the Hobgoblin
Publisher: Walker Books
ISBN: 9781921720260
Published: July 2016
Age: 6+
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