THE PAPER PRINCESS FINDS HER WAY

In lightly sentimental language that will strike a chord with Velveteen Rabbit fans, Kleven takes the small paper doll introduced in Paper Princess (1994) through further adventures and changes. When her young maker grows past the point of being able to hear her, a kindly dog carries the faded princess outside. Off she’s carried by the wind, to hazardous encounters with a cat and a toddler, to a brief stay with a shelf of store-bought toys who are awed by her ability to “fly” without batteries, and to the top of a Christmas tree. Later she flutters along with zillions of monarch butterflies to a distant, warm country where a new child gives her fresh layers of love and clothing. Constructed (naturally) of paper in Kleven’s painted collages, but with a wreath of fuzz around her head for hair, the princess faces each up and down with open arms and a subtly changing smile, to go along with her welcoming spirit. Younger readers will gladly go along on her odyssey, and thoughtful older ones may glimpse the metaphorical journey underlying it. (Picture book. 7-9)