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Overview
Lala dwells in a cave that lies deep below the ground, worlds away from the castle where three beautiful princesses live. She is the best krinkle-nut digger by far, but she longs for more: the dresses, the parties, the royal life. Up, up, up Lala climbs and sneaks into the castle. She tries on the princesses’ gowns…and is caught. But the princesses dress Lala up and let her attend a ball. She stumbles. She bumbles. She is laughed at. Can Lala find it in her heart to forgive the girls who tricked her? Will Lala find out what it means to be a real princess?
Synopsis
Deep in a cave there's a story, it seems, of a sweet little monster with very big dreams. She wished she was pretty. She wished she could dance.
She wished to be special...and this was her chance.
Publishers Weekly
Yearning to break free of her life underground, Lala, a young monster with scaly arms and lettuce hair, heads for a mountaintop castle, where she endures public humiliation at the hands of three princesses ("You're a monster forever," they jeer. "Now get out of here!"). The next day, using her insider's knowledge, she rescues the three from a brute with "sour beast-breath," but declines to befriend them even after gratitude makes the princesses relent. Boiger's pastel paintings play up the contrast between the princesses' charmed existence and Lala's comfy burrow, and while MacHale's (the Pendragon series) verse--like his heroine--is a little lumpy, he delivers his message about handling mean girls with sincerity. Ages 4-6. (Aug.)
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Yearning to break free of her life underground, Lala, a young monster with scaly arms and lettuce hair, heads for a mountaintop castle, where she endures public humiliation at the hands of three princesses ("You're a monster forever," they jeer. "Now get out of here!"). The next day, using her insider's knowledge, she rescues the three from a brute with "sour beast-breath," but declines to befriend them even after gratitude makes the princesses relent. Boiger's pastel paintings play up the contrast between the princesses' charmed existence and Lala's comfy burrow, and while MacHale's (the Pendragon series) verse--like his heroine--is a little lumpy, he delivers his message about handling mean girls with sincerity. Ages 4-6. (Aug.)From the Publisher
"Boiger's pastel paintings play up the contrast between the princesses' charmed existence and Lala's comfy borrow, and [MacHale] . . . delivers his message about handling mean girls with sincerity."—Publishers Weekly
"Lala's fluffy green hair, eager grin accented by two delicate fangs, and irrepressible spirit make her a creature kids will root for, even before she uses her monstery skills to save the princesses from a scary beast."—Booklist