ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- This is one of the funniest books I've read and is finally in paperback. Harriet is a Hamster Princess, cursed at her christening by the deadly Ratshade to prick her finger on a hamster wheel when she turns 12 and die. Of course the fairy godmice can change that to falling asleep, but Harriet grows up not knowing what fate has in store for her. When she discovers the curse, she realises (because she is a very clever princess, unlike the frail and pale helpless hamster-maidens her parents wish she was more like) that she is invincible! She embarks on a series of adventures until duty calls her back to face the music - but all that smiting and riding about on her hunting quail has given her cunning as well as strength. Things don't always go to plan and she has to do a bit more rescuing, persuading and cleaving… Lots of simple illustrations push the narrative along and add to the fun! Ages 7-10. Lindy Jones
Ursula Vernon is a full-time author and illustrator whose work has won a Hugo award and been nominated for an Eisner. She loves birding, gardening, and spunky heroines, and thinks she would make a terrible princess. Ursula lives with her husband in Pittsboro, North Carolina.
ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- This is one of the funniest books I've read and is finally in paperback. Harriet is a Hamster Princess, cursed at her christening by the deadly Ratshade to prick her finger on a hamster wheel when she turns 12 and die. Of course the fairy godmice can change that to falling asleep, but Harriet grows up not knowing what fate has in store for her. When she discovers the curse, she realises (because she is a very clever princess, unlike the frail and pale helpless hamster-maidens her parents wish she was more like) that she is invincible! She embarks on a series of adventures until duty calls her back to face the music - but all that smiting and riding about on her hunting quail has given her cunning as well as strength. Things don't always go to plan and she has to do a bit more rescuing, persuading and cleaving… Lots of simple illustrations push the narrative along and add to the fun! Ages 7-10. Lindy Jones
A 2015 Texas Bluebonnet nominee A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2015 A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2015 A New York Public Library Best Book for Reading and Sharing of 2015 A Chicago Public Library Best Book of 2015 An ALA Notable Children's Book of 2016 [A] charming, funny, subversive middle-grade illustrated fantasy. -- Cory Doctorow, New York Times bestselling author, activist, and co-editor of Boing Boing * A joy to read, and we can only hope that Harriet - long may she reign - will return in later installments. --Booklist, starred review * Move over, Babymouse, there's a new rodent in town!...Vernon has created a spunky heroine readers will cheer for and who will leave them eagerly searching for the happily ever after in the next installment. --School Library Journal, starred review * Harriet is her own hamster, but she takes her place proudly alongside both Danny Dragonbreath and Babymouse. Creatively fresh and feminist, with laughs on every single page. --Kirkus Reviews, starred review * A book with all the makings of a hit. Readers will be laughing themselves silly. --Publishers Weekly, starred review Middle-graders with a taste for absurdity and snark will find plenty of both here...Fans of Holm's Babymouse (Babymouse: Queen of the World, BCCB 12/05) series or Vernon's Dragonbreath (BCCB 9/09) series will definitely want to tag along on Harriet's future adventures. --BCCB