The Princess in Black Series

Summary

Princess Magnolia looks like the perfect princess, but she has a secret: she is also the monster-fighting superhero, the Princess in Black. The Princess in Black and her horse, Blacky, save the kingdom over and over again from huge, furry, adorable monsters that come from Monster Land. No one knows her secret identity, but the Princess in Black is able in any situation to save people and animals that might be in trouble.

Reading Level: 5-8 years old

Read Aloud Age: All Ages

Mom Thoughts

The Princess in Black series are quick, silly book for young readers. They have very short chapters and bright, whimsical illustrations. These are also great books to have your child read aloud to you. There are funny battle phrases like “PRINCESS POUNCE” and “HORNSWAGGLE HOP” as well as monster sounds, like “ROOAARR!” and “EAT GOATS”. While there really isn’t any substance to these books (some may call them “twaddle”), they are good, clean fun.

Questionable Behaviors: The only, very mild, thing to be aware of is that Princess Magnolia tells white lies here and there to keep her secret identity, secret.

UPDATE: Book #10 was released in May of 2023 and is titled Prince in Pink. In this book, we meet a new character whose “superpower” is planning parties and giving makeovers. He dresses in all pink and wears a tiara. His battle cry is “Flourish!” He does retain his male pronouns and while a boy planning parties, wearing pink, and giving makeovers in and of themselves are not sinful, there is clearly an effort here to normalize LGBTQ behavior.

Concerning a boy wearing a tiara: we often think of this in terms of a young boy playing dress-up and therefore wouldn’t qualify that as sinful. This book effectively blurs the lines because the Prince in Pink only wears a tiara when he’s in his superhero costume and it’s easy to think of it in dress-up terms, which is what I did initially. However, that is not the context of what the Prince in Pink is doing. The text reads, “He put on each well-considered piece of his costume.” Yes, he is wearing a costume, but what he chooses isn’t done in innocence or ignorance, it’s done intentionally. Therefore, the following verse does apply: “A woman shall not wear a man’s garment, nor shall a man put on a woman’s cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.”- Deuteronomy 22:5

Because of this new addition to the series, I no longer recommend The Princess in Black.