Whiskerella

January 1, 2018

POPGr 3-6-Harriet the hamster princess faces her greatest tribulation yet: a fancy masquerade ball. She'd rather be slaying Ogrecats or fighting giants than wearing elegant gowns and dancing with dull, clumsy princes, but the party gets a boost with the arrival of the lovely Whiskerella, who exits right before midnight, leaving behind several disappointed suitors. Curious Harriet and her friends Wilson and Ratpunzel investigate only to discover a fairy godmother hell-bent on obtaining Whiskerella a happy-ever-after ending at all costs. Like previous titles in the series, this cheerfully irreverent "Cinderella" spoof hilariously deconstructs fairy-tale tropes ("And who falls in love with somebody because of their shoe size?!"). The humor turns delightfully silly at times, too, with plenty of bathroom jokes. The depiction of female characters is thoughtful: though take-charge Harriet, who eschews stereotypically feminine traits, is the star of the show, gentle Ratpunzel gets her due as well. Whimsical illustrations break up the action-packed narrative and add a comic book-like flair. VERDICT Both series fans and newcomers with a taste for snark will devour this one. Multiple copies are a must.-Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2019
Hamster Princess Harriet is forced to attend a ball--in a dress!--and gets pulled into a mystery involving a hamster in glass shoes (Whiskerella). A rodent-girl in a bright red hood asks Harriet for help with weasel-wolves lurking around her grandmother's cottage (Little Red). Vernon's fifth and sixth trippy fairy-tale takeoffs use humor, quick pacing, occasional comic bookstyle panels, and snappy dialogue to engage young and struggling readers.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from November 1, 2017
Hamster princess Harriet is back in Vernon's take on "Cinderella."Twelve-year-old Harriet has zero interest in marriage, especially when most princes she knows aren't particularly pleasant, but her optimistic mother has other ideas; the queen thinks that a masked ball would liberate Harriet from her intimidating reputation. But it's a reputation Harriet is proud of, and the queen's idea of a masked ball sadly doesn't allow for Harriet's costume ideas, like Genghis Prawn, "unstoppable leader of the lobster horde." Instead, the belle of the ball is a gorgeous, mysterious newcomer wearing glass shoes. While everyone else is enchanted, Harriet, concerned about how easy it was for an uninvited intruder to waltz right in, schemes to learn the mysterious hamster's secret. She learns that Ella (or Whiskerella) is stuck attending balls until she's swept off her feet by a prince. Ella finds the princes just as odious as Harriet does--and the shoes are painful--but her wishes are less important than the "happily ever after" that the fairy godmouse insists she have, as "Everry little girrrl drrreams of marrrying a prrrince!" The wild struggle to prevent the unwanted happily-ever-after includes razor-sharp takedowns of Cinderella tropes, stampeding quails, and a running gag about a lizard with bladder troubles. After all the silliness, it ends on a surprisingly beautiful note.Readers will have a ball with this hilarious, charming story. (Graphic/fantasy hybrid. 7-12)

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