3stars Princess Zaara lives in a castle overlooking a magical forest her parents refuse to let her enter. The next time her tutor falls asleep she slips off her crown and runs into the forest. Zaara meets a Giant named Morgan and his two friends, Elvin the elf and Banji, a teddy bear creature. T... more

3stars Princess Zaara lives in a castle overlooking a magical forest her parents refuse to let her enter. The next time her tutor falls asleep she slips off her crown and runs into the forest. Zaara meets a Giant named Morgan and his two friends, Elvin the elf and Banji, a teddy bear creature. They welcome Zaara with their special friendship song they like to sing. She then meets Tiffany, a fairy, and watches as Mischievo casts spells over her new friends. It is up to Zaara to find Mischievo, somewhere deep in the magical forest, and bring him back to her friends. Zaara and the Enchanted Forest is a short, 30 page, picture book for children ages 6 to 8 years. The story highlights friendship and acceptance of others. The characters do that quickly, yet sincerely. Princess Zaara and the Enchanted Forest works best read aloud to a child or group of children ages 4 to 6. It does not take much effort for Zaara to solve her conflict in the forest and I am not sure she has changed by the end of the story, as all good characters must, yet young children will like the story and understand the message sent to them. Anyone older than six will probably lose interest quickly. If your child loves the Barney song, or sings with Sesame Street, they will like the friendship song and can add their own name to the song. The writing could use a bit of editing. There are too many commas used and used incorrectly. This drove me nuts. Trying to read, stopping often, many times for no purpose, made it difficult to enjoy the story. The incorrect commas are like speed bumps on a racetrack. The descriptors are colorful, yet also overdone and were redundant for such a short story. This is where some editing would help. More dialogue and some snappy lines would help the story, especially when read aloud, which the author feels is the best way for his story to be read to children. Despite the above, Princess Zaara and the Enchanted Forest is a sweet story with a happy ending. Children will love the bright illustrations that fill most pages without text. The book is a good size for a story hour reading or a bedtime tale. Note: received from author