Harrison, Ivie Mette. The Princess and the Bear. HarperCollins, 2009. ISBN 9780061553141. $17.99. 327 p.
Reviewer: Tessa McMillan
Reading Level: Young Adult
Rating: Outstanding
Genre: Adventure stories; Fairy tales; Fantasy fiction;
Subject: Fairy tales; Animal-human communication--Juvenile fiction; Magic--Juvenile fiction; Books--Reviews;
The story starts off soon after the ending of the first book, The Princess and the Hound. Now that Prince George has changed Princess Beatrice back to her hound form, she keeps company with her new friend the bear. However, the bear has animal magic working in his life. In reality the bear is King Richon, who was transformed 200 years ago by the wild man. The wild man stuck Richon in a bear body to teach him a lesson about respecting animal magic. While the hound and the bear live peacefully in the forest, there is destruction lurking near their home. A cat man is been spreading unmagic all across Prince George's kingdom. The hound and the bear realize that they cannot conquer this problem alone, so they seek the aid of the wild man. When they find the wild man, he tells them that the unmagic problem started in Richon's kingdom. Their mission is to go back in time as humans, trace the beginnings of the unmagic, and destroy it so there will be hope for Prince George's future. Richon realizes the terrible state of his kingdom, and with the hound's help they conquer the unmagic and bring unity to Richon's kingdom. Harrison's book is a definite page-turner. The story is intriguing and the characters are identifiable and beautifully created. This is a great supporting companion book to The Princess and the Hound. Teenagers and adults will enjoy this well-created book.
Volume 29, no. 5 (May/June 2009)
