PRINCESS ARABELLA IS A BIG SISTER

After only child Princess Arabella requests a younger sibling, she questions whether she wants to be a big sister after all.

Princess Arabella gets tired of playing by herself all the time. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have…someone you could always play with?” She asks her Mum and Dad to “get a little brother or sister for [her] tomorrow.” Unfazed, her parents ask her which she would prefer. When she visits Prince Mimoun, having his little sister Laila around seems like fun—until Laila starts a fight over who got more candy. When she visits Princess Ling, having three little brothers to play with is nice—until they all clamor for the last puzzle piece, breaking the puzzle in the process. Maybe an older sister would be better? But Princess Sophie’s big sister isn’t much fun at all. Months later, Princess Arabella has decided that being an only child is actually pretty good—but Mum’s belly has grown. Princess Arabella is surprised to meet her new family members: a sister and a brother. This Belgian-via-Britain import has a dreamlike sense of the passage of time, but it stays true to the emotional ups and downs of family life. The brightly colored illustrations and straightforward story arc with a fun surprise ending are bound to please young readers. Princess Arabella and her family present black, and visual cues and characters’ names imply diversity among her friends, who are coded Muslim, Chinese, and white.

A chuckleworthy royal roller coaster.