I liked this book for a few reasons. One reason is the use of repetition throughout the story to add humor. As Paulina competes in the competition to become a princess, she is asked to complete many strange tasks and each time she responds using the phrase “Oh, for Pete’s sake.” For instance, after being asked to try on a glass slipper, Paulina says, “For Pete’s sake, you never heard of sneakers.” This repetition throughout the story adds a fun element that the reader quickly comes to expect at various points in the text. Another reason I enjoyed this book is the suspenseful plot. During the princess competition, the reader is unsure whether Paulina will pass each test. This is especially true during the final task where the competitors are asked to cook an extravagant meal for the prince because Paulina is sabotaged by the other competitors. Even though she is only left with flour, yeast, water, overripe tomatoes, and stale cheese, she creates a delicious pizza that she uses to win the competition. In the end, the reader receives another surprise because Paulina decides to turn down the offer to marry the prince because of the way she was treated by the royal family. Finally, I liked how detailed the illustrations are in the book, because this allows the reader to see texture, which makes the images more lifelike. For example, the reader can see the woodgrain on tables, the shininess of jewels, the softness of fur, and the smoothness of cloth. These added details make the story more interesting and allow the reader to feel like they are actually witnessing the events.

The main message of the story is that the future can often be unpredictable. Initially, Paulina thought she wanted to become a princess, so she entered the competition to marry the prince. However, she quickly realized she did not like having to complete such silly tasks and did not like how the royal family was treating her. After she created a delicious new dish that she named “Pete’s… ah” (or pizza), she realized she had discovered something that she genuinely enjoyed. In the end, she decided to start her own pizza restaurant. ( )

An ex-princess competes against other girls for the prince's hand, put to the test in many princess-related areas. Paulina passes all the tests with flying colors, until she has to make a meal with random, unappetizing ingredients. Still determined to do well, Paulina invents pizza, and wins the competition. She has, however, decided that the prince's hand is not what she wants for herself, and instead opens a pizza parlor which is a huge success all throughout the kingdom.

A tongue-in-cheek fairytale ("That's so once-upon-a-time!") about a princess who invents pizza to win the hand of a prince (and avoid beheading). Having achieved victory over the other princesses, she finds out the beheading was a joke (ha ha, potential mother-in-law!) and that she prefers pizza to princes anyway, so she goes home to start her own business. See also: The Paper Bag Princess. Funny, but too long for a toddler's attention span. Will try again later!

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Re-read June 2019 ( )

A princess that does not have work has to prepare a feast fit for a prince

45 months - this books starts out a bit disappointing... Oh no not another girl who wants to be the pretty princess but luckily things turn around. Worth a read. ( )