A little bit irreverent, but when a princess that wants to be a fierce warrior is given a rather small and a bit gassy pony, hilarity ensues.

Precious. A good moral is taught and the pony is adorable. ( )

I was thrilled to find this book by the author/illustrator of Ducks at the library and borrowed it immediately. It's a hilarious story of a feisty princess, her nearly spherical birthday-gift pony (whose picture appears on the narrator's sketch pad in Ducks! Nice touch!), and the most unexpected Warrior Battle ever. (Actually a tournament mêlée, I guess, since it occurs on schedule in some sort of arena and scores are kept.) There are just enough pony farts (two) to keep little boys happily chuckling without unduly annoying parents. Kate Beaton is a genius. Is it too soon to declare this a new classic of children's literature? Because it just might be. It's reminiscent of The Paper Bag Princess, in both humour and its determined princess, so we can hope it's a book with similarly lasting popularity, destined for multiple reprints.

It made such an impression on my 7 year old grandson that when I found a copy at the Scholastic book fair and wanted to buy it, he insisted that we already own it. He had me at least half convinced. I bought it anyway ("All right, Nonna, you can have it" he sighed) and since as it turned out, we didn't have the book at home, I'm very happy about the purchase. ( )

This was all kinds of hilarious and adorable. Loved it! ( )

A 2015 picture book.

A girl wants to be a warrior, but her horse is a goofy pony.

B (Good).

The illustrations are great, with lots of fun little details. But the story doesn't manage to provide a reason for the Fat Pony to have an entire book.

(Jan. 2023) ( )