Spoiled Pink

From Kirkus Indie Reviews... "...the text is simple but not overly so, striking a balance between being manageable and challenging for young readers. The layouts' variety makes for a visually appealing presentation, and the pink capital letters used to begin each page fit perfectly with the overall theme. The book's lesson is a good one, teaching children that sometimes they need to open their minds to the unexpected...the art is full of appealing, cheerful colors, and the cover illustration is brilliant..." This book is all about what little girls love! Color! Happiness! Puppies! The King and Queen love to indulge their Princess, but in wanting to please her, they do not realize the consequences of their over-indulgence. In the end, the greatest gift to a parent is seeing a child grow to understand that real love transcends all material things. When the new baby girl arrives at the Palace, her mother, the Queen, dresses her all in pink. Before long, however, the Princess is totally smitten with the color. Her parents soon find it increasingly difficult to fulfill her pink fantasies. A kind witch appears, first with gifts of pink, and then with a gift that breaks the spell. This story and its drawings were meant to evoke an old-world feel. The pictures, done in colored pencil, were meant to be soft and child-like, so that a child could more readily identify with the images. The scenes portray real visits to castles, villages, and vast open meadows. Joni's recollections of her travels and her research on all things medieval produced the end result seen here in this, our first picture-book for children. The book is written for 3 through 8 years of age...the earlier age for being read to, and the older age, of course, for actual readers.