The Princess and the Potty

Lewison ( Shy Vi ; Going to Sleep on the Farm ) and Brown ( Your Best Friend, Kate ) strike a merry chord in this appealing variation on an oft-played theme. Brown's comic ink-and-watercolor pictures depict a medieval princess who looks to be well past the potty-training stage--and who trots out an engaging range of facial expressions that indicate her stubbornness. It seems she has no interest in trading in the ``royal diaper'' for a potty--even when tempted with models that are polka-dotted, musical or glow-in-the-dark. Quite simply, they fail to please her. When the princess's desperate parents consult the royal wise man, he answers--again quite simply--that ``the princess will use the potty when it pleases her to use the potty.'' Her incentive proves to be a new acquisition: ``the prettiest pair of pantalettes in the land,'' which, quite simply, cannot be worn with a royal diaper. Art and text convey the tale's message with amusing understatement. Bound to please any princess--and less royal youngsters as well. Ages 2-4. (Mar.)