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The Princess in Black #4
The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation
Even monster-battling princesses get tired sometimes! But a peaceful time away is hard to find as the humorous New York Times best-selling series continues.
After battling monsters all night, a sleepy Princess in Black decides that she needs a vacation. After all, the Goat Avenger, a new hero who looks oddly familiar, has offered to protect the goats while she takes a much needed break. The very next day Princess Magnolia rides her bicycle to the seaside, where the air is salty, the sun is shiny, and the sea is as blue as monster fur. But just as Princess Magnolia is about to take a nap on her hammock, she hears a "ROAR!" Seriously? A monster? On the perfect beach? Impossible! Could a sea monster really ruin this vacation for the Princess in Black?
After battling monsters all night, a sleepy Princess in Black decides that she needs a vacation. After all, the Goat Avenger, a new hero who looks oddly familiar, has offered to protect the goats while she takes a much needed break. The very next day Princess Magnolia rides her bicycle to the seaside, where the air is salty, the sun is shiny, and the sea is as blue as monster fur. But just as Princess Magnolia is about to take a nap on her hammock, she hears a "ROAR!" Seriously? A monster? On the perfect beach? Impossible! Could a sea monster really ruin this vacation for the Princess in Black?
88 pages, Hardcover
First published November 8, 2016
200 people are currently reading
1159 people want to read
About the author
Shannon Hale
145 books14.1k followersShannon Hale is the New York Times best-selling author of six young adult novels: the Newbery Honor book Princess Academy, multiple award winner Book of a Thousand Days, and the highly acclaimed Books of Bayern series. She has written three books for adults, including the upcoming Midnight in Austenland (Jan. 2012), companion book to Austenland. She co-wrote the hit graphic novel Rapunzel's Revenge and its sequel Calamity Jack with husband Dean Hale. They live near Salt Lake City, Utah with their four small children, and their pet, a small, plastic pig.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 340 reviews
December 12, 2024
I probably related to this one too much as an adult. It's going to take me being shipped to an isolated island to be able to take a true vacation.
July 31, 2018
Book Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com
The Princess in Black Takes a Holiday is the fourth book in ‘The Princess in Black’ series by husband and wife team, Shannon and Dean Hale. Princess Magnolia is a secret monster fighting princess. When Monsters arrive from Monster Land the princess dons her disguise, slides down her chute and climbs aboard Blacky and sets off to send the monsters back home.
This week alone she has fought off fourteen monsters and is extremely tired. Just as she is about to lie down the monster alarm goes off again. A monster is trying to eat her friend Duff’s Goats. Being so tired she was finding it hard to stop the monster. Suddenly another masked hero turned up to help ‘The Goat Avenger’. Together they stopped the monster.
The Goat Avenger told the princess she needed a holiday and that he would take care of any monsters that arrived. So, off she went to the beach. However, she wasn’t there long when she heard a ‘ROAR’ a big sea monster was causing havoc. There was only one thing for it – It was a good job she brought her suit and mask with her.
This is the first book in the series that I have read, in fact, it was the first time I had heard of the series. The book is a children’s chapter book, introducing larger chapter books to new readers. The letters are written in large font and there are no hard words to decipher.
Throughout are colourful, bold illustrations by artist LeUyen Pham. These add so much to the story and make the book come to life. Nearly every page has at least one illustration. The book is also split into short chapters, of which there are thirteen of them.
This is a fun, exciting adventure book that is perfect for new readers and goes to show that anyone can be a hero!
The Princess in Black Takes a Holiday is the fourth book in ‘The Princess in Black’ series by husband and wife team, Shannon and Dean Hale. Princess Magnolia is a secret monster fighting princess. When Monsters arrive from Monster Land the princess dons her disguise, slides down her chute and climbs aboard Blacky and sets off to send the monsters back home.
This week alone she has fought off fourteen monsters and is extremely tired. Just as she is about to lie down the monster alarm goes off again. A monster is trying to eat her friend Duff’s Goats. Being so tired she was finding it hard to stop the monster. Suddenly another masked hero turned up to help ‘The Goat Avenger’. Together they stopped the monster.
The Goat Avenger told the princess she needed a holiday and that he would take care of any monsters that arrived. So, off she went to the beach. However, she wasn’t there long when she heard a ‘ROAR’ a big sea monster was causing havoc. There was only one thing for it – It was a good job she brought her suit and mask with her.
This is the first book in the series that I have read, in fact, it was the first time I had heard of the series. The book is a children’s chapter book, introducing larger chapter books to new readers. The letters are written in large font and there are no hard words to decipher.
Throughout are colourful, bold illustrations by artist LeUyen Pham. These add so much to the story and make the book come to life. Nearly every page has at least one illustration. The book is also split into short chapters, of which there are thirteen of them.
This is a fun, exciting adventure book that is perfect for new readers and goes to show that anyone can be a hero!
February 20, 2017
I will always think highly of this book as it is the first chapter book my youngest requested to read TO me. We loved the acorn shaped monster.
December 14, 2016
I will never not love this series. I think everyone in library land will empathize with PiB when she says she just wants to take a vacation and no one will let her!
April 14, 2018
It has been non-stop monster thwarting for the Princess in Black, and she is exhausted! When The Goat Avenger offers to save the day so she can take a vacation, she gratefully accepts. However, her vacation and the Goat Avenger's "saving the day" don't go exactly as planned!
I've enjoyed this series so far, but this one I really loved as it didn't feel like the same old hero story. Magnolia and Blacky are realistically going through burn out and with allllll of the activities kids do now, I feel like they will relate to wanting to do something, but just being too tired to do it well. Also the Goat Avenger monster dispatching twist was hilarious!
Content notes: No language or sensuality issues. Martial arts style fighting against monsters, but no drastic injuries, just bumps and bruises.
August 30, 2018
To see my thoughts on The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation visit my blog:
http://www.literaryfeline.com/2017/02...
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June 22, 2017
5.5 Stars
November 15, 2018
Read to Claire. She was amused. Fun illustrations. Good sense of humor. Easy vocabulary for first time chapter book readers but also a nice, quick read-aloud.
March 20, 2023
“I loved the sea dragon! It was awesome!” Remi, age 5.
December 29, 2022
I’m going to rate this 4 stars.
Four because the good things in it was like that it’s really fun and active it has lots of talking but it had monsters in it and I thought I was about the monsters in my sleep
by Maria
Four because the good things in it was like that it’s really fun and active it has lots of talking but it had monsters in it and I thought I was about the monsters in my sleep
by Maria
November 15, 2016
Yay! A brand-new PiB book. This time our princess is trying to go on a vacation, but will she be able to rest?
The fourth book is here, and we can now enjoy a warm beach vacation in the midst of autumn (though it feels kind of like winter). :P
The poor princess, she was truly pooped from all the monster defeating. It makes me wonder why, until now, there was apparently no one else who also does the monster defeating. You would think if there is one person, there are bound to be more. Just one hero can't save everything, all the time. We can see that clearly that this taking toll on our princess. So I am happy with the addition of the Goat Avenger. Even though that one has a lot, really a lot, to learn.
I am also still laughing at the fact that apparently no one, really no one, can deduce who these 2 are. Though with that ending, I feel like someone does know. Why else would that person do that? I can't wait to see if my feeling is right, I do hope so, it would be fun!
The beach vacation was a delight, I loved how the beach stands looked, and also how lovely and beautiful the beach was (sorry, but here seas aren't bright blue, or beaches yellowish).
Of course we could have guessed that the monsters wouldn't allow our superhero to have a break.
I was cheering for our princess to keep on going, to just defeat him so she could have her rest.
I won't tell you if she got her rest, or if she defeated the monster, but I was definitely happy with the ending.
We also have the Goat Avenger parts, and see him do his best to keep the peace in the pasture.
Oh yes, and I definitely have to give points to the creative names that our boy and girl use when defeating a monster (or practising on defeating one).
All in all, I definitely enjoyed this book and I would recommend it. As for me? I want more PiB!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com
The fourth book is here, and we can now enjoy a warm beach vacation in the midst of autumn (though it feels kind of like winter). :P
The poor princess, she was truly pooped from all the monster defeating. It makes me wonder why, until now, there was apparently no one else who also does the monster defeating. You would think if there is one person, there are bound to be more. Just one hero can't save everything, all the time. We can see that clearly that this taking toll on our princess. So I am happy with the addition of the Goat Avenger. Even though that one has a lot, really a lot, to learn.
I am also still laughing at the fact that apparently no one, really no one, can deduce who these 2 are. Though with that ending, I feel like someone does know. Why else would that person do that? I can't wait to see if my feeling is right, I do hope so, it would be fun!
The beach vacation was a delight, I loved how the beach stands looked, and also how lovely and beautiful the beach was (sorry, but here seas aren't bright blue, or beaches yellowish).
Of course we could have guessed that the monsters wouldn't allow our superhero to have a break.
I was cheering for our princess to keep on going, to just defeat him so she could have her rest.
I won't tell you if she got her rest, or if she defeated the monster, but I was definitely happy with the ending.
We also have the Goat Avenger parts, and see him do his best to keep the peace in the pasture.
Oh yes, and I definitely have to give points to the creative names that our boy and girl use when defeating a monster (or practising on defeating one).
All in all, I definitely enjoyed this book and I would recommend it. As for me? I want more PiB!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com
December 8, 2016
I am delighted to highlight this new book in one of my very favorite series. Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, along with LeUyen Pham have created a truly winning series. In this volume, the Princess in Black has discovered that one of the downsides to having a double identity is very little sleep. Frankly, she's exhausted, and when the Goat Avenger suggests she take a vacation while he watches out for monsters, she's more than happy to agree. Unfortunately, once she's at the beach, things take a turn for the worse when a sea monster shows up to create chaos. Can the Princess in Black save the day again or will she stay in hiding with her friend Princess Sneezewort? Once again, the Hales and Pham have created the perfect book. A delightful text with great read a loud potential (lots of sound effects built right in) and the gorgeous illustrations that highlight poor Princess Marigold's utter exhaustion. I felt tired just looking at her. I especially love the fact that Princess Marigold is a pink-loving sweetheart and a black-wearing monster fighter at the same time. So often society tells kids they need to fit into one neat box or another, with no cross-over between them. But in reality no one fits into a nice, neat little box, and these books demonstrate that to perfection. I'm sorry I'm gushing, but I really do love this series. If you haven't tried it yet I highly recommend that you do.
December 21, 2016
First sentence: It was dawn. The Princess in Black had battled monsters all night. And so Princess Magnolia was tired.
Premise/plot: Fighting monsters keeps the Princess in Black (aka Princess Magnolia) exhausted, so when someone new THE GOAT AVENGER (aka Duff the Goat Boy) volunteers to fight monsters in her place, she hesitantly agrees to take a much-needed vacation. But will all go according to plan? Will the Goat Avenger face off with scary monsters? Will Princess Magnolia have a peaceful, relaxed, monster-free vacation AT THE BEACH?
My thoughts: The series is enjoyable. I love, love, love the illustrations. LeUyen Pham is my favorite and best. I adore her work. Shannon Hale's stories are nice. Are they thrilling for adult readers? Probably not. But I really like the characters--especially Princess Sneezewort--and don't mind the predictability and sameness.
(I think the all-caps are contagious.)
Premise/plot: Fighting monsters keeps the Princess in Black (aka Princess Magnolia) exhausted, so when someone new THE GOAT AVENGER (aka Duff the Goat Boy) volunteers to fight monsters in her place, she hesitantly agrees to take a much-needed vacation. But will all go according to plan? Will the Goat Avenger face off with scary monsters? Will Princess Magnolia have a peaceful, relaxed, monster-free vacation AT THE BEACH?
My thoughts: The series is enjoyable. I love, love, love the illustrations. LeUyen Pham is my favorite and best. I adore her work. Shannon Hale's stories are nice. Are they thrilling for adult readers? Probably not. But I really like the characters--especially Princess Sneezewort--and don't mind the predictability and sameness.
(I think the all-caps are contagious.)
Read
August 5, 2017My 6-year-old daughter read this book, which she checked out from the library. Here is her rating and review in her own words (typed in by Daddy as she reviewed): "In this book, there is a princess called Princess Magnolia, but she is also like a spy princess who battles monsters. In this book, she goes on a vacation at the beach. She thinks it will be a relaxing time until a sea monster comes. She is super sleepy, but she has fun doing battling the sea monster, and she does some funny things in this book."
July 6, 2016
Perfectly Princess in Black. Got a signed galley of this at BEA and had the chance to tell Shannon and Dean Hale how funny I thought these books are. Princess Magnolia goes on vacation to the seaside while The Masked Goat Avenger takes over battling the monsters back home. Except there aren't any monsters at home and surprise! a sea monster shows up on the beach and threatens to ruin Princess Magnolia's vacation. Her alter-ego must save the day. Right on Princess in Black!
December 20, 2016
We've been very excited to read this one for awhile now! They just get better and better. ;) I love how pink and princess-y everything is, and hooray for Princess Sneezewort once again! I also really loved that . The whole thing about masks being confusing was really funny, and I can't wait to read more of the Princess in Black's adventures.
February 26, 2017
Princess Magnolia is exhausted so the Goat Avenger (who looks a lot like Duff the goat boy) encourages her to take a vacation. Alternating perspectives, the very tired Princess in Black battles a sea monster while the Goat Avenger keeps the goats safe. Another entertaining edition to a popular series.
January 1, 2017
3.5 stars
A fun and colourful addition to the Princess in Black series, this time with her new crime-fighting ally, the Goat Avenger (who bears a suspicious resemblance to Duff!).
The illustrations are expressive and I particularly like the goats!
A fun and colourful addition to the Princess in Black series, this time with her new crime-fighting ally, the Goat Avenger (who bears a suspicious resemblance to Duff!).
The illustrations are expressive and I particularly like the goats!
March 25, 2017
My son loves this series and this book particularly. He's new to chapter books, but has been patient for multiple readings of this book. And those multiple readings have been at his request. I enjoyed it, too.
November 15, 2016
The Princess doesn't seem to get a break!! I like the way they introduce the "Goat Avenger". I was thinking that she should have a sidekick.
January 5, 2017
Love this series!
April 23, 2017
So true girl. You try to go on vacay and they monsters wont leave you alone!!!
February 23, 2018
Very silly book but reminded me that I really could use a vacation!
May 25, 2018
Even at the beach the monsters keep coming. The Princess in Black must go to work and stop the monster!
Read
December 3, 2018Laugh out loud for a 7-year-old. Who knew goats were so funny?
November 5, 2024
This book was amazing and it was a really good and very interesting and very fun.
You should definitely read this book it’s really good.
SPOILERS
There is a huge sea monster it is big and green a girls name is Princess Black/Princess Magnolia and a other girl named Princess Sneezewort.
You should definitely read this book it’s really good.
SPOILERS
There is a huge sea monster it is big and green a girls name is Princess Black/Princess Magnolia and a other girl named Princess Sneezewort.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 4, 2025
My daughter found this at her school’s book bonanza, and decided to gift it to me because I love vacations, and fighting monsters. The perfect present.
March 14, 2020
she thoght she was going to have a vacation!
March 5, 2021
I think this one is my favorite so far! As a mom reading to my child I could relate with The Princess In Black being tired and wanting to take a vacay.
March 18, 2021
I like the part where the sea monster wanted to eat fish instead of humans. Haha!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 340 reviews