Review by Booklist Review
The princess was brave and the panther tried to be is the constant refrain in this picture book about two sisters who play and camp out in the backyard. The oldest, in her gold tiara, is smiling and bold, while the younger one, with striped black marks on her face, is scared and hesitant as they pretend to cross a desert and pitch their tent in the woods. Then things get scary: monster noises and shadows come nearer, with heavy paw steps lumping, a pant-pant galumphing. The acrylic pictures, in bright shades of purple, green, and red on double-page spreads, show the glaring shapes and shadows, detailed with claws and fangs. Then the refrain changes: The princess tried to be brave and the panther tried to try, and both sisters summon the courage to confront the monsters. In a final scene, the sisters snuggle up in the quiet backyard tent together. Children will recognize the thrill of confronting fears at the same time that cozy comforts are right there when they need them.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Imagination is at the heart of this book as two sisters set out to camp in their backyard. Their red tent becomes a royal shelter, the wading pool a lake, and the sandbox is the desert they toil across. The princess is stalwart, but her little sister, the panther, is unnerved when night falls. Orr's steady refrain is, "The princess was brave, and the panther tried to be," and the timidity of the panther is purposefully revealed in the rich acrylic illustrations. After one too many scares by neighborhood animals, the girls do not predictably retreat into the safety of the house but, instead, stand up to the night and are brave-both of them. The final spread shows that all is well in the tent, with a bright moon shining and the sisters contentedly asleep. This is a clever twist on the usual camping story and the fears that accompany it, and it pairs well with Margaret Ruurs's nonfiction When We Go Camping (Tundra) and Kristine O'Connell George's Toasting Marshmallows: Camping Poems (Clarion, both 2001).-Joan Kindig, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Two sisters, one dressed as a princess, the other as a panther, prepare for a backyard campout. "The princess was brave, and the panther tried to be" in the face of nocturnal animal sounds: "Too-whit-too-whoo...screechy hoo-hoo." Deep-hued, textured acrylics ably reflect the imaginative story's drama and its nighttime setting. (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A little girl and her younger sister have a great adventure in the backyard. The princess packs up lantern, sleeping bags and red cloak in a great bundle, and she and her panther (she's drawn whiskers on her little sister, who has polka-dotted PJs and cat ears) go forth across the desert (sandbox) and make the cloak into a red silk tent. "The princess was brave / and the panther tried to be," the refrain echoes. After dark, though, it gets harder to be brave. Alert children will know that it's not leaf snakes but leaves, not an owl-witch but an owl, not a great dog-wolf but the puppy next door that try their bravery. After they at last burst from the tent to shoo away their fears, they return to their tent and sleep safely all night. The pictures are in broad, rich swaths of acrylic colors that deepen into night and then lighten into morning. A warm and cozy tale of sisterly joy and sweet imagination. (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
