The Princess and the Dragon: A Fractured Fairy Tale by Marjorie Bayes and illustrated by Agnes Villeda, e-book, 40 pages, published in 2015.

This unusual princess helps her father and mother to rule, and on the side she rescues princes. One very annoying prince has been captured by the Dragon. Dutifully, the Princess goes along to rescue him, only to find the Dragon isn’t really all that good at being a dragon. So she recruits him to help her with some issues in the Kingdom.

The Princess and the Dragon is a short chapter book that will delight children young and old. It turns the ‘Prince rescues Princess, slays dragon and marries Princess” fairy tale on its head in an entertaining and amusing way. There are only three chapters, so it was a quick read for me, but I really enjoyed it. I liked the simple pictures too. Every second page or so is filled with coloured illustrations, which are beautifully rendered and complement the story nicely.

My favourite character was the Dragon, with his ineffectual roar, vegetarian ways and love of roses. He was always reluctant to help the Princess, but got there eventually. It was funny that he kept telling her things were against the dragon rules, when he was mostly just making that up! The Princess is no ordinary royal either, she is forthright, sensible and responsible. No pretty dresses and swooning for her! She makes a great lead character and role model for girls. She can be herself and she can do anything.

The Princess and the Dragon is an enjoyable read most suitable for lower and middle primary school students.

*I received this book as a digital copy from the author, who asked me for an honest review of this book. I did not receive any other remuneration, and the review is composed entirely of my own opinions.