Princess! Fairy! Ballerina!

It’s a rainy day, and three little girls can’t agree on how to spend time during their playdate. One wants to play princesses; one wants to play fairies; one wants to play ballerinas. Each girl has come dressed for her hoped-for part, with wings and tutus and crowns, and each has her own idea of what activity will be the most fun. Suggestions for tea partying and dancing eventually give way to shouting, and the playdate seems in danger of running off the rails. But when a frog hopping outside the window catches the girls’ attention, the assumption that they have to stay inside goes by the wayside. Playing in the rain is exactly the thing that all three girls can agree on.

Murguia’s illustrations are as charming as in her previous picture books, and her precise understanding of how children see the world makes this book appealing to kids and adults alike. Murguia perfectly captures the balancing act children perform as they model glamour and sophistication–while wanting, more than anything, purely to play. Fans of the Zoe books will welcome a new addition to their Murguia library.