“Late one starry night,/ when the sky was blue and deep,/ a perky little princess/ could not go to sleep.” The girl’s two older sisters try “sprinkl[ing] fairy-dust wishes,” dancing, snacking on sticky buns, and taking a soothing bubble bath, but nothing does the trick. Meanwhile, Van Fleet incorporates several touch-and-feel elements into the pages (the sticky buns: actually sticky), creating a parallel game of distraction to the one the sisters are involved with. Cozy colored-pencil artwork gives the story a snug quality—with their flannel nightgowns and modest home, these are the kind of everyday princesses that readers will find it easy to relate to. Ages 2–6. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly, December 16,2013