about the book
Princess Peepers is a princess-in-training at the Royal Academy for Perfect Princesses. But no matter how she tries, she just doesn’t fit in. Though she is a fashionista wearing the latest in eye-wear, she’s also a tomboy and a bit of a nonconformist rogue.
While all the other snobby girls deck themselves out in poufy gowns, fairy wings, and ballerina tutus, Peepers dons a safari outfit, complete with a pith helmet and zebra striped glasses! The other gals strut around balancing books on their head striving for perfect posture. Peepers prefers hanging upside down by her knees in a tree. As the other girls daintily sip tea, Peepers races by on her skate board…until she slams right into the tea table! She just doesn’t belong!
Everyone is ecstatic when the Grand Matron announces the Royal Academy’s pet show. Everyone, that is, except Princess Peepers. She doesn’t have a pet. The Matron tells Peepers that she’ll just have to hang around behind stage, but Peepers really wants to participate.
When she brings in a bee from her insect collection, the girls rudely remind her that only pets with two or four legs are allowed. Even a frog from the royal pond is not good enough. So Peepers heads off to the forest to look for a cuddlier pet. One the others will accept.
Unfortunately, an accidental fall breaks her glasses and the animal she finds is…err… a bit unusual. She thinks it is a flying unicorn. It does have four legs and can fly…but cuddly is not a term that would describe it well!
Will the befuddled and sight-impaired princess win the show and finally make friends, or will her “new pet” cause more problems?
about the author
Pam Calvert’s mother, Carol Culp, was a sci-fi bibliophile with an amazing book collection. No wonder Pam grew up passionate about books. Her father, Norman Culp, was an electronic engineer and inventor, involved in designing the electronic phone bell, anti-lock brakes, Poloroid cameras, and a microchip that protected phone lines from lightning strikes. It is no wonder that Pam grew up fascinated by science and math! Her mom and dad were always cracking jokes, so Pam grew up with one more passion—humor!
Pam started writing early but not successfully. Her sci-fi piece about Martian mice only earned a C in fifth grade. Still, she had a nearly perfect childhood—except for glasses. By age nine, Pam had to wear them all the time. Misplaced and broken spectacles caused all sorts of mayhem. Who would guess that. years later, those troublesome glasses would lead to a whole series of children’s books, Princess Peepers.
Pam’s first inclination was to become a librarian but she decided to study molecular biology instead. For a while she worked on a cystic fibrosis research project. When she became a mother, she decided to turn her scientific passions to teaching physics and chemistry to high school students. About the same time, she did an article for a running magazine and found a new passion—writing.
How could she combine all these different passions—kids, teaching, math, science, and humor? After reading more than 300 children’s magazines and 200 children’s books, she came to the conclusion that the answer was writing books that combine all her loves. Not only are her books receiving all sorts of accolades, she now she gets to speak to thousands of children every year, encouraging them to dream and enjoy math and science through literature.
Pam lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, four children, and their dog and their cat. She is very involved in her church, science, running, triathlons, and mud racing.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Clara Gillow Clark
Also by Pam Calvert:
Princess Peepers. Amazon Children’s Publishing. 2008.
about the illustrator
Tuesday Mourning grew up Colorado in Fort Collins, with eight brothers and sisters. She loved rainy days because that meant she got to spend time doing her favorite activity—drawing and painting with her siblings. She especially enjoyed making paper dolls with her sisters and creating elaborate stories for the fashion-conscious characters!
She learned to draw and paint for a living at Brigham Young University where she earned her bachelor’s degree. So far, she has created over 20 chapter book covers and illustrated four children’s picture books. She loves to draw and paint, and feels that she has the two greatest jobs in the universe—mommy and artist!
Tuesday currently lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, with her husband and two young sons. In whatever spare time she can scrounge, she enjoys reading, crafting, building, exploring, eating, and giggling!
Sources:
Illustrator blog
Illustrator website
Illustrator profile: Shannon Associates
Also by Tuesday Mourning:
The Kylie Jean series by Marci Peschke. Picture Window Books. 2011-2013.
The Two and Only Kelly Twins by Johanna Hurwitz. Candlewick Press. 2013.
Billy & Milly, Short & Silly by Eve Feldman. Putnam Publishing. 2009.
read more!
The Best Pet of All by David LaRochelle
A boy wants a dog, but when mom says they are too messy, he asks for a dragon instead. Mom’s pretty sure he’ll never find one so she agrees. Turns out, there is a dragon just sitting in the nearby drug store. After the careless dragon roasts hot dogs in the living room and eats spaghetti in the tub, mom decides that dragons are way messier than dogs!
Me and My Dragon by David Biedrzycki
A boy thinks Eddie’s Exotic Pets has the perfect pet for him—a small pot-bellied red fire-breathing dragon! He plans to name him Sparky, feed him Sizzle’s n’ Bits Dragon chow, and keep him in a cardboard castle. The boy will teach his dragon to soar and take him for low-flying walks. Sparky could light birthday candles, clear snow from the neighbor’s driveway, and scare away bullies. The boy now just has to convince his mom!
Princess Peepers by Pam Calvert
When the other princesses at the Royal Academy for Perfect Princesses make fun of Princess Peepers for wearing her stylish collection of cat-eye glasses, she vows to pack them all away. But without her glasses, she cannot see very well, and she stumbles into things, misidentifies items, and mistakes people for animals! Then at the ball, she bumps into one more person—young Prince Peerless! He’s not wearing his glasses either!