Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "sisters"

Story Spinners: A Sisterly Tale of Danger, a Princess, and Her Crew of Lady Pirates by Cassandra Federman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


FFSs. Stands for forever-fighting sisters, according to Kennedy. Nor does it help that she and Devon are total opposites with only three commonalities: stories, pizza, and a baby sister named Eve. She shares their room. She cries at night.

Kennedy and Devon’s arguing comes to a head when they break the television. Mom takes away their phones and electronics. She does not want to hear any noise from their room. They must learn to get along or else they will never get their items back!

Even with the door closed, the fighting continues until they decide to tell the perfect fairy tale. Of course, that leads to more bickering since Kennedy, who likes math, has her own formula for what does and does not belong in a fairy tale. Devon, on the other hand, loves danger. Eventually, they join forces to tell Eve a bedtime story so she will sleep. Kennedy will do the traditional parts while Devon adds the “COOL parts” – which leads to more clashes and a story involving a princess pirate who goes in search of someone or something to kidnap her so Prince Charming will rescue her and they will live happily ever after. Except, this princess isn’t the only one looking for true love.

The majority of this graphic book is in black and white, but there are fifteen pages in color. These may denote that change is in the air, although that’s a guess rather a known fact. There are multiple chapters, each with a specific focus that leads toward Princess Sparklepuff’s goal. Devon’s “Dangery” parts include lady pirates, dragons, a mermaid, spiders, a shark, and garbage.

More important than the princess’s quest, the sisters learn to communicate and realize what it means to be sisters. Readers are never quite sure what’s coming next, which keeps them invested in both tales. Geared toward girls ages seven to ten, the sibling rivalry is something many will readily identify with and Kennedy and Devon’s solution may just give them ideas of their own so that their parents can have some peace and quiet.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/YA-graphic...)



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