The Rescue Princesses 8 – The Shimmering Stone

Paula Harrison's The Shimmering Stone is a Rescue Princesses adventure for 7 year olds with two tiger cubs, a royal wedding and a very grumpy prince.

What happens

Princess Amina lives in the palace of Kamala, on a hill above a river. Her cousin Rani is getting married tomorrow and Amina is the bridesmaid. Her aunt, Queen Keshi, is in a total flap about it.

Then Amina spots a tigress through her binoculars, with two fluffy cubs tumbling about in the long grass. Before long the tigress is being carried into the palace wildlife hospital on a stretcher with a broken leg. The cubs are out there on their own. And none of the grown-ups will listen.

Lottie, Isabella and Rosalind have just arrived for the wedding. So the four Rescue Princesses wrap themselves in bright shawls, grab empty baskets from the kitchen and stroll out of the gate dressed as fruit sellers! (Lottie's red curls keep poking out.)

They find one cub, who climbs straight onto Amina's lap. She calls him Sizzle and hides him in a basket under her bed. But his brother is still somewhere by the river, and it's getting dark.

That's where the title comes in. Amina has a bracelet with a golden-brown tiger's-eye stone, and a rhyme Isabella's mum used to sing gives the girls an idea. It involves a tiny hammer, a chisel and Amina's broken binoculars.

Amina is a gentle, thoughtful heroine. She'd rather tell the truth than fib, even to the shy little princess who walks in on their disguises. And she really doesn't want to spoil her aunt's big day, so you feel for her.

Then there's Prince Henry. He's rude from the minute he arrives, snatches Amina's binoculars and tells tales on the girls at night. His little sister Samantha turns out to be a brilliant lookout, though. So why is Henry so cross? Amina has no idea either.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

Early on, Amina mentions that her parents died of a fever when she was little, and that her aunt and uncle have looked after her ever since. It's backstory, not something that happens in the story. A child who has lost a parent might like a heads-up. The hurt tigress is handled gently (the vets give her something to help her sleep).

This is the eighth Rescue Princesses book, but everything your reader needs is explained as they go.

What to read next

If they loved the idea of a big cat cub hidden in a princess's bedroom, The Moonlit Mystery has just that. It's an earlier book in the series with Emily's group of friends, where Princess Lulu smuggles a tiny lion cub home and names him Tufty.