Pinkalicious

In keeping with my Halloween theme, I've decided to review Pinkalicious by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann! What's the connection? Well, M, my 6 year old loves this book so much, she decided she's going to be her for Halloween! Luckily we already have a pink princess dress, pink fairy wings, a wand and a crown. Not that I would EVER consider paying this much for a Halloween costume, but the only "official" Pinkalicious costume I found was online, on sale for $50-something!! On sale! I believe the reg. price was $64. Pure madness.

Anyway, back to the book. I had seen this book around for a while and I had it in my head to either get it for M myself or request it as a gift from the next person who asked. I didn't know exactly what it was about, but it seemed right up her alley. Then it showed up in her Scholastic book order from school (still one of my favorite things in the world) and we were able to get it at a decent price. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. The author has a clever way of writing that straddles the line between adult and child. Don't get me wrong - it is definitely geared towards children, especially the crown-wearing, wand-bearing, singing-and-twirling types. But there is something about the story and the way that it's written that's just so ... cute. Now that I've read it roughly 75 times, give or take a few (the most recent reading being last night before bed), I can't honestly say that I still enjoy it all that much, but the first 20 times or so were enjoyable. Not only that, but as the mommy of 2 crown-wearing, wand-bearing, singing-and-twirling girls, the main character, Pinkalicious, is completely and utterly believable (ignoring, of course, her pink skin). It is a tad long for the average toddler though and L, my 2 1/2 year old, can't always sit through it. Fortunately, I've read it so many times, I can read it pretty fast and even have some parts memorized. :)

Since then we've also gotten Purplicious and Goldilicious - the sequel and ... threequel? They follow the typical sequel-isn't-as-good-as-the-original pattern and sort of get worse and worse with each one. Purplicious at least has a good message - You don't need to change yourself just to make friends or be like everyone else. But it's somewhat disappointing in that it's just not as cute as Pinkalicious. My girls don't care - they request it as much as Pinkalicious, I would say. Goldilicious, on the other hand ... is just very eh. I read it once, but don't really remember the story and it rarely gets requested (why I've only read it once). The author has also just started an easy reader series on Pinkalicious. Quite exciting for my 1st grader, who loves to read almost any chance she gets. I'll have the latest on what she's reading in a later post though ... For now, that's all folks!

Overall rating: LOVE IT! (Pinkalicious); Like it (Purplicious); Pass It (Goldilicious)