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Summary
Summary
A sly, hilarious, and bold picture book from debut creator Sabina Hahn about a fierce little girl who commandeers a rotting pineapple for a royal crown--perfect for fans of Eloise and Olivia .
This misunderstood little girl is certain she's a princess--despite the protests of her family. One afternoon she's struck by a brilliant idea. Princesses wear crowns and she knows exactly where to get one.
She gets to work--decimating her midday snack until she has a pineapple headpiece fit for royalty. Is she sticky? Yes. Does her tummy feel funny? Yes. Is she very important? Absolutely .
What follows is a power rush of epic proportions and a horde of eager subjects in the form of flies. Unfortunately, her new subjects take direction. . . poorly. As this princess's kingdom slowly devolves into chaos, both her rule and her pineapple crown begin to fall apart.
Pineapple Princess is a laugh-out-loud funny debut, perfect for every intrepid, young megalomaniac in the making.
Author Notes
Sabina Hahn is a Brooklyn based illustrator, animator, and sculptor who loves stories and tall tales. Sabina has been drawing from before she was born; she is a master of capturing subtle fleeting expressions and the most elusive of gestures. She is a co-founder of Interval Studios. Pineapple Princess is her debut picture book.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A "deeply, deeply misunderstood" child seeks agency and appellation in Hahn's picture book debut. The volume's pale-skinned narrator, who sports a yellow frock and a cloud of brown hair, firmly believes in both their own princesshood and the archly phrased idea that "princesses should do whatever they want. Especially at bedtime." Watercolor vignettes show the purported royal wreaking domestic havoc--red crayon marks the length of the family's walls, and a younger child appears on all fours, hitched up to the protagonist's wagon. The addition of a pineapple crown to the narrator's costume (the fruit's top half dug out and perched on their head), successfully garners subjects--of the housefly variety. Though the group enjoys "picnics and concerts and royal hunts" (Pineapple Princess is shown happily cavorting with the mass of flies), the insects "make poor soldiers, worse cooks, and terrible handmaidens," frustrations that result in a return to defiant form, and a title change, for the protagonist. Though the tongue-in-cheek lines can lean on telling over showing, deftly shadowed spreads, especially of Pineapple Princess's penchant for elaborate, and sticky, tea parties, lend a deliciously insouciant chaos to this careful-what-you-wish telling. Ages 4--8. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. (May)
Kirkus Review
"I am deeply, deeply misunderstood," declares a child who plainly has really saintly parents. Positive that they are actually a princess, a child sees nothing amiss in scribbling down the stairway wall with a crayon, harnessing their baby brother to pull a royal wagon, and ignoring instructions to clean their room--or, for that matter, wearing a sticky, hollowed-out pineapple top as a crown and inviting a growing swarm of buzzing flies (or "subjects") to gather. Paired with a humorous declamatory monologue, Hahn's appealing watercolor scenes follow a small, scowling, light-skinned child with an outsize gift for making fantastic messes, from garbage-strewn bedroom to a kitchen turned utterly topsy-turvy and then, perhaps at the strong, if unmentioned, invitation of an unseen parent, outdoors. Having wielded a fly swatter against some of their more rambunctious "subjects" and sensing rebellion in the ranks, the protagonist at last decides it's time for an upgrade to a new and, readers will likely agree, more suitable role: warrior queen! (This book was reviewed digitally.) A hilarious romp featuring a small wild thing with a big, big personality. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A headstrong child seizes an opportunity she's sought, then sours on the spoils in Hahn's delightfully subversive and clever picture-book debut. "I know I am a princess, but nobody believes me." Tired of rejection and recriminations for her stately behavior, the imperial protagonist is sure having a crown will help her cause. When she spies a pineapple in the fruit bowl, she sees potential in its golden, spiky appearance. After eating herself slightly ill, she deposits the hollowed rind upon her head. "Am I sticky? Yes. Does my tummy feel funny? Yes. Am I very important? YES!" Donning a tutu and jewels, she becomes the Pineapple Princess and quickly attracts subjects who create quite a buzz about her rule; but life in the kingdom is burdensome when your only vassals are flies. Eventually the girl trades her crown for a new prop and persona, and she's off on her next triumphant subjugation. Hahn's expressive watercolor illustrations playfully capture the mischievous tyrant in a wash of soft lines and ample white space that belie the sharp content of the story. The artwork is a charming juxtaposition to the text, which, while minimal, unfolds through well-paced page turns. This witty (and slightly wicked) book should appeal to readers who admire Eloise's and Olivia's insouciance, as well as fans of Jon Klassen's deadpan, elevated humor.
