Jewel Kingdom #1: The Ruby Princess Runs Away by Jahnna Malcolm is a very quick early-middle grade book. It's about 60 pages and it took me less than 20 minutes to read, but I can see how it would be a great book for a reader who is just starting chapter books. There's only 8 chapters total, so each chapter is a decent length 7-10 pages. The print veers on the large side which makes readability good and there are several illustrations throughout. The story is pretty simple.
Princess Roxeanne is 10 years old, and it is her coronation day. She doesn't feel prepared to rule, so when the palace gate is left open she seizes the opportunity and runs away. She meets few friends on her adventure and discovers a plot from the nefarious Lord Bleak. This book would be fantastic for teaching adjectives: there's King Regal, the Mysterious Forest, the Rushing River, Lord Bleak, and many other names that are also adjectives. It's the first in a rather extensive series so emergent readers have more adventures to look forward to if they enjoy the first book.
Honestly, this book was my best friend's favorite when she was growing up, and I can see why. I would love the adventure as a young kid, and there's a dragon which used to guarantee my devotion. As an adult, my favorite part was the rather fortuitous naming of the royal secretary bird as Twitter. This means Roxanne gets to proclaim "Don't tell my parents where I am, Twitter!" It's unexpected meta in kid's book.
Middle Grade March Count: 2
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