Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You’ve never heard of them, have you? These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, and yet, thanks to those lousy bards who wrote the tales, you likely know them only as Prince Charming. But all of this is about to change.

Rejected by their princesses and cast out of their castles, the princes stumble upon an evil plot that could endanger each of their kingdoms. Now it’s up to them to triumph over their various shortcomings, take on trolls, bandits, dragons, witches, and other assorted terrors, and become the heroes no one ever thought they could be.

Christopher Healy’s Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom is a completely original take on the world of fairy tales, the truth about what happens after “happily ever after.” It’s a must-have for middle grade readers who enjoy their fantasy adventures mixed with the humor of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. Witty black-and-white drawings by Todd Harris add to the fun. 

If you’re looking for a tongue in cheek adventure full of quirky characters that try their best but don’t always succeed the way they think they will, then this will be a fun read for you. We follow four princes who have each been dubbed “Prince Charming” in their respective kingdoms, and some of them don’t necessarily enjoy the way their stories unfolded. This story is a mashup of multiple fairy tale couples who aren’t really having a happy ever after, more like they don’t really know their partners and have some real relationship hiccups along the way. They aren’t traditional heroes by any means, but they find ways to work together…sometimes. It was a funny story that constantly had ups and downs and I think for a middle grade reader who understands the tongue in cheek nature it would be great. For any age it would be an entertaining read featuring price’s as we’ve never seen them before. I also loved the artwork that was included throughout the book, looking like pencil sketches on the page.

Happy reading!

When Sam arrives in Foggy Harbor, South Carolina, all she can see is that it’s small, boring, and thousands of miles away from her mom. She dreads spending the summer there with her Uncle Mitch, and he’s not exactly happy to see her, either. But Sam quickly learns that there’s more to Foggy Harbor than she’d thought. With the help of a new friend, Tuck, she sets out to uncover the magical truth behind the town’s biggest mystery: the secret of Lost Luck.

When I saw the description of this book I wanted to pick it up because mythical creatures are instantly a want-to-read for me. This book is definitely middle grade, but I would say on the younger end of middle grade. We follow Sam, who feels like she doesn’t have a place because she and her mom move around so much and just when she feels like they might be staying in one place – she finds out otherwise and has to go stay with her Uncle for the summer. What she expects to be a boring and unhappy summer quickly becomes something altogether different.

I really enjoyed this adventure and the illustrations throughout were beautiful and perfectly suited the events happening in the book. It’s a great set up for a series and it definitely put in place a number of things that could happen in the future. I also really enjoyed the fact that there’s a section at the end with information about some of the things mentioned in the book, so that young readers could further learn about them if they wanted to.

Happy reading!