Imagine a world of roaming around the kitchen playing with fun characters like the Cotton Candy Cowboy or Petey Peanut Butter. Each character has their own adventure, but watch out, something big is around the corner! All this and more are in The Finger Prince by Peter Begley.
I love how the beginning pages in The Finger Prince explain each finger print character in detail, with fun and whimsy. Then, dum...dum..dum, enter the scariest cleaning utensil you've ever met.
The Finger Prince is recommended for children ages four to eight, and I certainly see why, with "Monster Sponge" on the loose. "Monster Sponge" actually scared me a little bit as I read the book, so I didn't let my three year-old Miss A even see it, to be on the safe side.
"Monster Sponge" pops up on the unsuspecting Finger Print community, in a rage shouting that he will eat them, get them, and wipe the floor with them. Perhaps I'm a little uptight, but those aren't words I even want my little ones to use even when they're just playing.
It seems that the villain seems to get bigger and bigger throughout the book, even eating some of the Finger Prints, only to be defeated by Petey Peanut Butter and regurgitating the eaten Finger Prints...um, ewwww.
Now, although this is not a story for my family, I do like the underlying message that even the loner can be a hero and save the day. So the message is a decent one, and I like that the author Peter Begley used finger prints because I haven't seen anything like that in children's books, so I'll give him points for creativity.
If I could do anything to change this book, I would either make some story line changes to create a more gentle way for Petey to fit in with the other Finger Prints or recommend this book for ages eight and up.
The last page in The Finger Prince says, "To Be Continued," so I gather we should be expecting a sequel, I'm interested to see where Begley takes these characters, but not interested enough to purchase a copy of my own since I know we won't be adding it to the B Family collection.
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