Boom! Bang! Royal Meringue!
Sally Doran and Rachael Saunders
Andersen Press

So proud are they of their daughter Princess Hannah, on account of her impeccable manners, that King Monty and Queen Alice decide she should receive the very best birthday present ever. And what could be better than a huge pudding-making machine?

Come the evening and her birthday ball, the princess soon has delicious cakes and puddings issuing from her fantastic birthday gift. The machine however has a most unwelcome upshot where the birthday girl is concerned, for it exposes the fact that she’s never before been asked to share.

This is something the Queen is ready to acknowledge.

Fortunately though, her young guests are quick to deal with the issue and while the princess is throwing a tantrum, they start pressing the buttons. Then before you can say “blackbird pie” everyone is happily playing together, turning cogwheels and pressing knobs, concocting the most delectable sweetie treats, not least of which is a massive meringue nigh on 20 feet tall.

All is most definitely well that ends well on that particular night as the guests depart thoroughly impressed with young Hannah; and as for the meringue, well that certainly took some eating.

Told in delicious unfaltering rhyme – how debut author Sally Doran managed to sustain it so well throughout is amazing – this is a totally yummy confection. Perhaps it’s down to her penchant for meringues.

A right royal romp for sure made all the more scrumptious by Rachael Saunders’ effervescent scenes of partying and puddingy treats. I’m still drooling.