She tries subduing them with a lasso, an eye patch, and a sombrero, but she is defeated.

Finally, Pippa decides that she “needs a plan” to “get rid of them once and for all.” She decides to slip a written invitation into every book, and that night, they all come out. Pippa flees to her parents’ room only to be brought back time and again. But in bed at night, Pippa worries about “villains and monsters and beasts.” Sharp-toothed and -taloned shadows, dragons, and pirates emerge from her storybooks like genies from a bottle, just to scare her. Pippa’s “wonderfully wild imagination” can sometimes run “a little TOO wild.” During the day, she wears her “armor” and is a force to be reckoned with. Pippa conquers a fear of the creatures that emerge from her storybooks at night. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.Ī jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s her Groundling father appears to be a white human. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds.

Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.

Pickles to Pittsburgh by Judi Barrett