title: Buckle and Squash: The Perilous Princess Plot
author:  Sarah Courtauld 
description: Gr 35This cross between a fractured fairy tale and any of Roald Dahl's zany adventures is the first installment in the "Buckle and Squash" series. The story centers on two sisters: level-headed Eliza and Lavender, a dreamer. They live with Grandma Maud; their parents died in an accident at a village festival and their Grandpa Joe went missing, both events having taken place before the start of the story. The girls live on a farm in the Middle of Nowhere and while Eliza toils away at their farm chores, Lavender reads fairytales and dreams of princes as she perfects her princess personality. One day, Lavender runs away in hopes of being rescued by a prince and sets off an adventure in which she is captured by a bankrupt bad guy and Eliza must rescue her sister given only a goat named Gertrude for a steed and a hat and a beard as magical tools for saving the day. This humorous tale is funny right down to the sentence level narration ("The next morning was bright and lovely. The birds sang. Dawn rose. Then she went back to bed. Luckily Dawn isn't part of this story. She didn't really get up to much."). Witty writing combined with a cast of characters that are as ridiculous as they are memorablerendered in black-and-white drawings throughoutmakes for a great series opener. VERDICT A fun read for chapter book and younger middle grade readers.Samantha Lumetta, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
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  # The Bruised Princess
  
  
  ### A Short Story Retelling of The Princess and the Pea
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ## A. G. Marshall
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  #### [Avanell Publishing](http://www.angelagmarshall.com)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ### Contents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [The Bruised Princess](part0002.html#1T140-8093184b173a43d6b7ba0b82bf0b6597)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  [About the Author](part0003.html#2RHM0-8093184b173a43d6b7ba0b82bf0b6597)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  # The Bruised Princess
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  _No_.
  
  
  The word that had sealed Rachel’s fate echoed through her head with each
  thunderclap. It roared on each gust of wind.
  
  
  _No_.
  
  
  She stumbled and fell. Cobblestone streets were difficult in the daylight and
  treacherous at night. Her gauzy silk skirt ripped as her knee hit the rocks so
  hard that she knew it would bruise.
  
  
  At this point, one more bruise wouldn’t matter.
  
  
  _I won’t._
  
  
  She should have run sooner. Should have bolted out the door as soon as Bette
  pulled the gown from the wardrobe.