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The Blurb On The Back:
Harriet Hamsterbone is not your average princess.
For one thing, she’s a hamster.
For another, she prefers sword-fighting and fractions to sighing and fainting.
So when Harriet finds out that she was cursed at birth to fall into a deep sleep at the age of twelve, she doesn’t exactly react the way her parents were expecting.
After all, no good curse goes to waste, and so until the age of twelve, Harriet realises she’s … invincible!
Of course, there is still that whole curse thing, but she’ll worry about that later.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Ursula Vernon’s self-illustrated book for children aged 8+ is a laugh out loud spin on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale that delights from beginning to end. Harriet is a fantastic hamster heroine – spirited and determined, she’s got a smart mouth on her and a habit of jumping in first and asking questions later – and I loved her friendship with her quail, Mumfrey and her relationship with her exasperated mother who just wants her to be more princessy. The illustrations are brilliant and do a great job of adding to the story and the humour by serving to continue scenes rather than merely illustrate what’s been described. I loved the twists on the Sleeping Beauty storyline (my favourite being the scenes where Harriet discovers that her reputation has preceded her) and without wanting to spoil anything, I absolutely adored the unadventurous Prince Wilbur and his hydra, Heady (which was my favourite illustration). I was thrilled to discover that there is a sequel to this book and I will definitely be checking it out.
Harriet Hamsterbone is not your average princess.
For one thing, she’s a hamster.
For another, she prefers sword-fighting and fractions to sighing and fainting.
So when Harriet finds out that she was cursed at birth to fall into a deep sleep at the age of twelve, she doesn’t exactly react the way her parents were expecting.
After all, no good curse goes to waste, and so until the age of twelve, Harriet realises she’s … invincible!
Of course, there is still that whole curse thing, but she’ll worry about that later.
( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )
The Verdict:
Ursula Vernon’s self-illustrated book for children aged 8+ is a laugh out loud spin on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale that delights from beginning to end. Harriet is a fantastic hamster heroine – spirited and determined, she’s got a smart mouth on her and a habit of jumping in first and asking questions later – and I loved her friendship with her quail, Mumfrey and her relationship with her exasperated mother who just wants her to be more princessy. The illustrations are brilliant and do a great job of adding to the story and the humour by serving to continue scenes rather than merely illustrate what’s been described. I loved the twists on the Sleeping Beauty storyline (my favourite being the scenes where Harriet discovers that her reputation has preceded her) and without wanting to spoil anything, I absolutely adored the unadventurous Prince Wilbur and his hydra, Heady (which was my favourite illustration). I was thrilled to discover that there is a sequel to this book and I will definitely be checking it out.
