Best-selling children’s author Cornelia Funke’s collection of three original stories also features a princess who makes some unusual choices. In the first story, Princess Violetta wishes not to be a queen, but a brave knight.

This notion, of course, meets with disapproval from the king and queen and scorn from her three older brothers. It’s up to the princess to prove that not only can she become a skillful knight, but that she can make an excellent choice of husband as well.

In the second story, Molly, a pirate girl, is kidnapped by a crew of pirates, led by Captain Firebeard. Molly is able to turn the tables on the kidnappers by secretly summoning her mother, Barbarous Bertha, who rescues her daughter and sets Firebeard’s terrified crew to cleaning, scrubbing and cooking for her own pirate ship.

The third story describes the sibling relationship between an older sister and a preschool-aged little brother who pretends to be a brave “explorer” during the day … but who still wants to snuggle up beside his sister every night - in order to keep the monsters away!

These amusing, inspiring stories, featuring some unusual heroines and heroes, are free of the stereotyping that sometimes occurs in children’s stories.

** Recommended for ages 4 to 7 years.
Find this book in the library catalogue.