The Princess in Black
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 6+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
A bright, funny first chapter book about a princess who runs out to protect a goat boy and his flock. The fight is cartoonish, the language clean, and the heroine brave for the sake of someone weaker. That is real natural virtue. The one reservation is light: the joke rests on hiding who she is from a guest, and the moral of the book is mostly about breaking what princesses are expected to do.
For parents
Read it aloud from 4. A child can read it alone from about 6; Common Sense says 5 and up, Kirkus 5 to 8. Ask why Magnolia leaves the party to help Duff. Ask whether keeping a secret is the same as telling a lie. Courage is for protecting the weak (CCC 1808).