THE NAUGHTY PRINCE

This book's solitary title character inhabits a tiny planet, like St. Exupéry's little prince, and has the sharp nose and devious reputation of a pre-Disney Pinocchio. Yet fiendish Prince Niles is neither philosophical nor callow. He has nothing but bad intentions, repeatedly summed up by the generic word "naughty." One day, he spots another planet "so bright and pretty that its laughter and joy seemed to reach all the way up to him. Prince Niles was incensed." He crash-lands a snarling red rocket among the friendly residents, offends everyone with his rude behavior and convinces a naïve group of frogs to spoil the scenery with oily "black goo," represented by ink that floods the sunny watercolors. French author Debecker pictures the frogs goose-stepping in line with Prince Niles; ultimately, the residents sentence the foolhardy creatures to "a special frog-education program... so that in the future they would not be misled by the first passerby." The author extends no such salvation to Prince Niles. In the end, the people literally boot him home ("They kicked him all at once!") without any means of escape. Debecker offers a propagandistic account of evil, perpetrated by an unredeemable fairy-tale villain. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)