Paula Harrison’s The Secret Promise, the first Rescue Princesses book, is a castle adventure for 7 year olds about a princess who’d much rather be on the zip line than learning to curtsy.<\/p>\n
Princess Emily has waited years for her first Mistberg Grand Ball. In three days she has to curtsy to every king and queen there (and she’s already a bit nervous). Before that come dress fittings, napkin rules and a whole afternoon of practising how to sit on a chair.<\/p>\n
So she does what any sensible princess would. She slips out of the banquet with a torch under her cloak and has a go on the obstacle course in the dark!<\/p>\n
That’s where she meets the other three. Lulu does somersaults off the cargo net. Clarabel is gentle and not keen on heights. Jaminta wears a bracelet of emeralds she’s worked out how to make glow.<\/p>\n
Then a horrible screech comes out of the forest. It’s a young deer with its foot caught in a metal trap. The girls unscrew it, wheel the deer back in a wheelbarrow and tuck it up in the garden shed.<\/p>\n
But who’s laying traps in a forest where trapping isn’t allowed? The grown-ups don’t want to know. And Emily can’t stop thinking about the man in the purple hat, with a voice as cold as glass, whose room she barged into by mistake.<\/p>\n
The best bit is Ally, Emily’s maid. She used to be an undercover agent, so when the princesses want ninja lessons she’s exactly the right person to ask. Their first test is pinching a sulky prince’s orange vest without being seen (Emily cheats a little, with help from the castle dog).<\/p>\n
It’s quick and full of the things young readers love. Night-time sneaking, an oak tree to hide in, a wobbly human tower to get over a fence, and four girls who don’t think princesses should just sit still. It’s the American edition, so expect Mom, flashlights and pants where we’d say trousers.<\/p>\n
Worth knowing before you hand it over. The deer is hurt and very frightened when they find it, and the trappers are after antlers to sell. Nothing is gory, but a very soft-hearted animal lover might want a cuddle during the forest scenes. For most children the rescue is the exciting part.<\/p>\n
If they love the idea of friends secretly helping animals, try The Storm Dragon, another Paula Harrison story. Sophy is a maid at a castle who finds a baby dragon with a hurt wing, and she has to hide him from a knight who wants him locked up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Paula Harrison’s The Secret Promise, the first Rescue Princesses book, is a castle adventure for 7 year olds about a princess who’d much rather be on the zip line than learning to curtsy. Princess Emily has waited years for her first Mistberg Grand Ball. In three days she has to curtsy to every king and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14491,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"lr_next_read_post_id":9381,"lr_next_read_anchor":"The Storm Dragon","lr_seo_hook":"Sneaking out of a royal banquet to free a young deer from a forest trap.","lr_series_id":96,"lr_series_name":"The Rescue Princesses","lr_series_position":1,"lr_series_label":"","lr_author_order":"787"},"book_tag":[1047],"age_group":[19],"book_type":[1044],"book_author":[787],"class_list":["post-14492","our-books","type-our-books","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","book_tag-magic-books","age_group-books-for-7-year-olds","book_type-paid","book_author-paula-harrison"],"yoast_title":"The Rescue Princesses 1 – The Secret Promise by Paula Harrison | Little Reads","yoast_metadesc":"Sneaking out of a royal banquet to free a young deer from a forest trap. For ages 7+. 3,000+ books in the Little Reads app. 7-day free trial.","acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n