Overlook the title of Shannon Hale’s Princess Academy (New York: Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2005) because it’s not a “princess” book in the usual genre. A Newberry Honor book, it tells the story of tiny Miri, a Mount Eskel girl whose life revolves around the linder quarry until the day the Prince’s messengers announce that the next Princess will be chosen from her village. In beautiful prose with poetic interludes, Hale has told a wonderful story here for children ages 7-12. You won’t predict the ending. Look for Hale’s other books (all Juvenile or Young Adult) Enna Burning; Goose Girl; River Secrets; and her newest, Book of a Thousand Days, based on a Brothers Grimm fairy tale.