Tag Sarah van Dongen

Princess Minna: The Enchanted Forest / The Allotmenteers

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Princess Minna: The Enchanted Forest
Kirsty Applebaum, illustrated by Sahar Haghgoo
Nosy Crow

Ideal for solo readers just making their first forays into chapter books, this is one of a new series giving a new, fresh twist to traditional fairy tales. Each spread is enticingly laid out with Sahar Haghgoo’s bold, bright artwork taking at least half of the space.

Residing in Castle Tall-Towers with the King and Queen and a wizard named Raymond, Princess Minna is a confident, determined and capable young girl, always up for a challenge. In this story it comes in the form of preventing a curse taking effect. Said curse was laid by a bad fairy upon Prince Welling-Tunboot on the day of his birth to come into play on his tenth birthday, the day the King and Queen receive urgent pleas for help from the prince’s parents.

Off she goes aback her best friend, dragon Lorenzo, walloooping towards Tunboot Palace in the centre of the Enchanted Forest, pausing en route to come to the aid of various other characters that also come aboard the dragon.

All the while the clock ticks ever closer to the sundown hour by which time the sleeping prince must be awoken or remain asleep for ever more.

With its girl-power element, this very funny subversion of the Sleeping Beauty story will assuredly enchant newly independent readers and leave them eagerly awaiting further episodes in the life of this spectacle-wearing little princess.

The Allotmenteers
Theo Moore, illustrated by Sarah Van Dongen
Ragged Bears

This small gem is full of life lessons for youngsters, especially those just starting out on chapter books. It features the Brown family. Changes are afoot in the family with young Tim about to start ‘big school’ thus enabling Mum to return to her old job at the library. Yes, that means more money but the downside is she’ll no longer have any time to spare for looking after their allotment, something the older children Tom and Sally are very upset about.

Determined not to let it happen they persuade their mum to let them take charge of the allotment and thus they become The Allotmenteers of the title, their first job being to replant the herb garden.
Very soon, the children are able to offer some of the veggies grown to their neighbours thereby changing the diet of at least one of them. Each of the three further chapters tells a different story though they all mesh well together, as more members of the local community are brought into the unfolding events and Tom and Sally become adept problem solvers as well as gardeners.

With recipes and tips on growing, this slim book is full of warmth, charm and community spirit, made all the more so by Sarah Van Dongen’s illustrations.

The Neighbourhood Surprise

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The Neighbourhood Surprise
Sarah van Dongen
Tiny Owl

Redbird Road, where both Koya and Mrs Fig live, appears to have a strong community feel, with Koya and her friends, Hassan and Alex often visiting their elderly neighbour, and friend, Mrs Fig. She enjoys telling them stories of days gone by, creating costumes for dressing up and sharing the yummy cookies she bakes.

Needless to say, when they hear that Mrs Fig is moving away, the children are very upset and decide to organise a ‘going away party’ to show how much they’ll miss her. Dad suggests involving the entire street and so they do.

Kaya decides that the cake she and her dad bake must make allowances for the fact that Hassan is vegan. Hassan and his mum’s offering is falafel and a spicy curry,

while taking into account Mrs Fig being vegetarian, Alex and her family make a vegetable pie.

The afternoon of the party is a sunny one so Mrs Fig’s surprise party is to be held outside. She can hardly believe her eyes when she opens her door to discover …

A wonderful time is had by all, made all the more so when Mrs Fig announces that her new home is very close by, near enough for regular visits and another party the following year …

Rich in pattern and detail, Sarah van Dongen’s illustrations for her wonderfully warm-hearted story are a joy to contemplate. She also includes a final spread explaining vegetarianism and veganism. I was concerned to read there that honey is on the ‘no’ list for vegans so I’ll have to reclassify myself.