The Trailer Park Princesses

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at Queen’s University. She is the co-author of
Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary Classroom.

Identical twins Rebecca and Jane tell each other a story about how, once
upon a time, there lived four identical princesses. One day, an
earthquake shook the land and two of the princesses, also named Rebecca
and Jane, and their mother, the queen, fell into a great hole that
opened in the ground. They were shaken through time and space until they
eventually landed in a trailer park. Their mother bumped her head when
she landed and has no memory of her former life as queen. Princesses
Rebecca and Jane believe that their twin sisters are searching for them
and their mother.

While Rebecca and Jane go on their way to school one day, an elderly
woman addresses them as “princesses” and explains how she believes
the girls came to live in the trailer park. The elderly woman tells
Rebecca and Jane to treat their mother like a queen. She also explains
to the girls that many other princesses reside in the trailer park. The
elderly woman’s comments get Jane and Rebecca thinking that princesses
and princes could be anywhere! When the girls return home from school
that day, a surprise awaits them.

This imaginative tale of childhood fantasy is Pete Marlowe’s debut in
the world of children’s literature. Rebecca and Jane are convincing
storytellers and readers will be entertained by their creative and
engaging story, which is brought to life by Leanne Franson’s detailed,
acrylic watercolor artwork. Highly recommended.