The Princess in Black and the Science Fair Scare by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale

Candlewick Press, 2018. ISBN 9780763688271
(Age: 5-8) Highly recommended. Themes: Fantasy. Princesses. Humour, STEM. Princess Magnolia is off to the Inter-kingdom Science Fair with her entry, a poster about seeds and plants. When she arrives, she sees all the things that her friends have made - Princess Honeysuckle has a mole habitat, Princess Orchid has a Bucket Boosting Teeter Totter and Tommy Wigtower has a talking volcano that turns out to be a goo monster that wants to take over the exhibits. The Princess in Black comes to the rescue.
Fans of the series will be delighted with the latest addition of this feisty, brave and clever heroine and children new to the books are in for a treat. Not only are there interesting displays for the Science Fair, the Princess in Black has to use her problem solving skills to defeat the monster, with a lot of help from her friends.
Readers will effortless learn some scientific facts (how to make a volcano explode, and how to distribute weight evenly) while having a laugh at the antics of the goo monster as it creates mayhem at the fair.
This is a great series: it is scattered with humorous illustrations by LeUyen Pham and these will bring a smile to the faces of any reader. Children will love the escapades of the Princess in Black and would have fun coming up with their own disguises and secret names.
Pat Pledger