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Summary
Summary
"A welcome twist on a 'saving Christmas' story that slyly references familiar fairy tales while placing a tech-savvy princess at its center." - Publishers Weekly
Princess Eliza is lonely in her beautiful snow palace. Stuck inside all day with no one to play with, she figures out how to make almost anything with a few bits of wood and some string--including her own toys! Anything, that is, except the thing she wants most . . . a friend. As she sets off to find one, Eliza is excited to stumble across a group of elves. But -- OH, DEAR! -- Santa isn't feeling well, and there are still so many presents to make! Could Princess Eliza be just the person to save Christmas?
Author Notes
Caryl Hart is a full-time children's writer who also runs creative workshops with local schools. She lives in the Peak District in England with her guitar-playing husband, two daughters, one fluffy black cat, a goldfish, four hens, and a dog.
Sarah Warburton grew up in North Wales and studied illustration at the University of the West of England. She has created many books, including the Princess series with Caryl Hart. Sarah lives in England with her husband, two children, and a grumpy guinea pig.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In a wintery land in the far north, Princess Eliza is forbidden to play in the dangerous wild, so she keeps herself busy creating Rube Goldberg-type inventions. Her parents think the hobby isn't very "princess-y" and send her off to make a friend instead. Eventually Eliza finds a houseful of overwhelmed elves who are facing a Christmas backlog with flu-ridden Santa. Soon the clever princess has created a "speed-reading thing," a "robotic gift-picking contraption," and a "neat wind-up gift-wrapping machine." Santa is happy, the newly modified sleigh makes quick work of gift giving, and Eliza tells Santa that all she wants is a friend. "'Oh, Princess,' said Santa. 'I think you will find/you've made lots of friends just by being so kind." Her parents sell off some art and jewels to build Eliza a workshop, where she and her new elf friends play and improve Christmas "with kindness and skill." Bright mixed-media illustrations have a cartoonish charm and humorous details to enliven the leaden rhymed couplets of the girl-power princess story. VERDICT Fans of Frozen might be lured in, but they will not be satisfied.-Anne Connor, Los Angeles Public Library © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
"On top of the world where the ice wind blows" is a palace that's home to Princess Eliza, who spends most of her time tinkering: "With wood, lots of string, and some pieces of wire,/ the princess could make anything you'd desire." Long on ingenuity but short on friends, Eliza follows a plume of smoke through the woods to Santa's workshop, where it's crunch time for the frantic elves (Santa's under the weather). Eliza helps out by building contraptions that speed-read Santa's letters, sort toys, and wrap presents, impressing the elves and the big guy himself. Warburton includes plenty of fun, offhand details in her scruffy cartoons (a guitar rests beside the fireplace in Santa's cozy den, and he sports a purple sweater under his red coat). Hart delivers a welcome twist on a "saving Christmas" story that slyly references familiar fairy tales while placing a tech-savvy princess at its center. Ages 3-7. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Looking to make a friend, "brainy and bright" Princess Eliza leaves her snowy northern palace and stumbles upon Santa's distressed elves at his workshop. Eliza secretly builds contraptions to help her new friends save Christmas while Santa recovers from the flu. Channeling Andrea Beaty's Rosie Revere, Engineer, this read-aloud-ready holiday story, with lilting rhymes and whimsical mixed-media illustrations, celebrates helping others and girls in STEAM. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A lonely princess named Eliza uses her engineering talents to help Santa's overwhelmed elves get ready for Christmas toy deliveries. This substantial, rhyming story introduces Eliza and her protective parents, who live in a huge castle in a remote, snowy kingdom. Eliza, who appears to be 6 or 7, is "brainy and bright," but she has no friends or social life. She spends her days creating unusual machines, such as an odd-sock sorter and a sock-folding machine. Escaping the castle, Eliza ends up at Santa's workshop, where the elves are seriously behind in their work. Eliza invents a letter-reading machine, a "robotic gift-picking contraption," and a present-wrapping machine and makes modifications to Santa's sleigh. A grateful Santa invites her along on his Christmas Eve flight along with her new posse of elf friends, and Eliza's parents accept her special talent and build the princess her own workshop. The bouncy text written in rhyming couplets is well-matched by large-format, mixed-media illustrations filled with humorous details and intriguing, complex contraptions of Eliza's design. The royal family and Santa are white; the charming elves include both males and females as well as elves of color. Eliza is a conventionally pretty princess with blonde braids, but her mechanical talents and can-do spirit are a refreshing breeze in Princessland. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Clever inventor Princess Eliza is lonely in her castle, located all the way up in snow-covered mountains. Oh, she longs to have a friend. Until one day, Eliza sees smoke in the far-off distance. She decides to follow the smoke maybe it can help her find a friend! Soon, though, Eliza becomes lost in the forest. A reindeer rescues her and takes her to a cottage off the road. Guess what's inside? Santa's workshop, abuzz with frantic elves. Santa's sick and it's up to the elves to hit the deadline. The elves work tirelessly, but are doomed until Eliza uses her inventive skills to build a list reader, a gift sorter, and a wrapping machine. She saves Christmas, and Santa is so proud of her! Fans of Princess and the Pea stories will enjoy this rhyming, heroic tale of a girl who uses her wits to solve problems. Warburton's peppy, busy, whimsical, and often pink-toned illustrations should have no trouble winning over kids. A great choice for read-alouds, too.--Camargo, Rosie Copyright 2017 Booklist
