Betty G. Birney: The Princess and the Peabodys

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MY BOOKS: The Princess and the Peabodys
Jacket art by Chuck Gonzales Jacket design by Chloë Foglia	What does it take to rule the school? In the kingdom of Pine Glen . . . When a teenage wizard blunders a spell that sends a real, live medieval princess to the Peabodys' house, fourteen-year-old Casey Peabody is in for a royal mess! It was bad enough attending Pine Glen Junior High with a squad of cheerleading princesses. Now suddenly Casey has to contend with a real princess of her own. Her Highness, Princess Eglantine, is an expert at the three Ps: Prettiness, Perkiness, and Popularity-but she can't play soccer like Casey, and she hasn't got a clue about junior high! With ribbons in her hair and her nose in the air, the princess will need Casey to battle the cheerleaders . . . and though she doesn't know it yet, Casey will need the princess, too. With laughs at every turn, this magical tale proves that you don't have to wear a tiara or be a great soccer player to be cool. It doesn't take a wizard's spell to figure it out: Confident girls rule!
Meet the Players: Princess Egg - Her full name is Princess Eglantine Eleanor Annalisa Ambrosia de Bercy of the Kingdom of Trewellyn, daughter of Guilfoy the Great. But when she's accidentally warped into the modern age, she becomes just plain Egg. She's beautiful, maddeningly self-assured and a royal pain. Over time, the modern world adjusts to her and she manages to leave a magical mark on everyone she meets. Casey Peabody - She's full of confidence on the soccer team, but she still hasn't figured out the rules of the social scene...until she has to help the princess navigate her way through the pitfalls of Pine Glen Junior High. Alaric - the young (undeniably cute) wizard who made the big mistake that brought the princess to the Peabodys' living room. Ric - Alaric in his junior high incarnation. He befriends Casey while he watches over the princess Tino - the star athlete who only has eyes for Egg Maddy - who only has eyes for Tino and is out to get Egg Colin - a highly interesting guy who takes an interest in Casey Eden Endicott - head cheerleader, chief school snob Sabrina Toth and Kiki Green - Eden's entourage Alisha - Casey's understanding pal Boricius - Alaric's wizard master who is bent on "outing" the princess and showing up Ric Dad, Gran and Shane - the rest of the Peabody family Duke - the Peabody pet, whom Egg is convinced is a real Duke who was mistakenly warped to the 21st century as a dog.
EDITIONS:
U.K. (Faber & Faber)
REVIEWS: "Eglantine and Casey, the middle-school odd couple, make terrific narrative foils for each other, approaching almost every single situation with opposite perspectives. Their eventual warm and lasting friendship is all the more satisfying because it is so realistically hard-won. In addition, there is a well-developed balance of lessons here: Casey and Eglantine each have valuable experiences and wisdom to pass along to the other. With renegade cheerleading, a quick save involving a soccer ball as a weapon, and an aggressively perky and pink and purple cover, this novel will attract readers even without much selling." The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Confessions of a teenage Drama Queen meets Ella Enchanted meets Mean Girls in this very funny fairy tale story about friendship and fitting in. So good, we read it twice!" Primary Times, UK "It will be a hit with nine-to-12 year-old princesses everywhere." Telegraph & Argus (Bradford, Main) South Wales Echo (Cardiff), Evening Courier (Halifax), East Anglian Daily Times