Princesses on the Run

Being a princess doesn’t inoculate one from getting into a rut, as Coh’s terribly bored heroine, Princess Antonia, and her well-known princess peeps discover: “Cinderella was always busy cleaning.... Rapunzel never left her tower.... Snow White constantly had her hands full.... And Sleeping Beauty was always too tired.” So Antonia and her friends decide to run away—not to flee permanently (“After all, who was going to tuck them into bed?”), but rather to literally run and experience the thrill of physical exertion in the great outdoors. It’s so revelatory that afterward Rapunzel cuts her hair into a trendsetting bob, Cinderella becomes a fashion designer, Sleeping Beauty discovers yoga, Snow White becomes a cross-country runner, and Antonia finds new appreciation for what she has. Coh’s (I Have a Sister) feisty doll-like characters run in full princess regalia through an array of whimsical environments, conjured up out of fairy-tale tropes and collaged elements. The story bubbles with irreverent, girly fun and a lighthearted, let’s-give-it-a-whirl spirit that may be just the encouragement real-life couch potato princesses need to get moving. Ages 4–8. Agent: the Bright Agency. (May)