Princess Betony and the hobgoblin by Pamela Freeman
![cover image](https://www.readplus.com.au/covers/princessbetonyandthehobgoblin.jpg)
Ill. by Tamsin Ainslie. Walker Books. ISBN 9781921720260
(Age: 6-9) Highly recommended. The 4th in the delightful series
starring Princess Betony is another winner that will be enjoyed by all.
Princess Betony is not your average princess - she loves gardening
and is very curious. When her governess Lady Pineal decides that
milk should not be left out for the hobgoblin who lives in the
garden, chaos results as the hobgoblin is not happy and Rosie the
gardener is not around to sort things out. When the hobgoblin is
captured and imprisoned, Princess Betony and Basil the baker's boy
have to work out a way to stop an invasion from his hobgoblin
friends.
This is a perfect series for young readers who are just starting to
read chapter books. Princess Betony is a courageous girl who loves
to solve problems, go exploring by herself and learn about magic
from the court sorcerer. On one of her adventures in the underground
burrows, searching for the hobgoblin, she inadvertently leads to his
capture and she knows that she has to do something to make things
right. She is ably assisted by the baker's boy who is a quiet,
sensible lad willing to do his best to help the hobgoblin.
This would make a good read aloud with its great characterisation
and humorous incidents and with the other books in the series, would
be a great way of moving children from picture books onto chapter
books. The line drawings by Tamsin Ainslie are very appealing and
add to the humour of the story. Readers can go to the Princess
Betony website
for information about the other books in the series, games and
stories.
Pat Pledger