Princess Arabella Goes to School by Mylo Freeman is part of a picture book series that shows a princess who is not your typical looking princess. Granted, she has adventures like anyone else, but she has her own special take on things. And her own special way of how to be a princess.
The colors of the book are great. They are bold and sassy like our princess. They move the story along. They show how Arabella thinks of herself and the world. The illustrations themselves are not completely realistic, but that fantastical element is perfect for how the story should be moved along by its artwork. Freeman mixes their text and illustrations in a fun way.
However, personally, I did not find anything new to the story itself which is: Princess has an issue at school because she is different. There is no real meat to the story as the issue of Arabella not liking school because things are not going her way, is solved only by the teacher telling her Princess students that they can bring in their favorites animal. It is no surprise that Arabella’s are elephants. But this has been done before. The only strong point is the princess in not your Disney princess. She looks and acts like any girl we would see at any school. She is a princess of color from her beautiful hair to her happy toes but a princess nonetheless.
With all that said, I would recommend reading the Princess Arabella books to see if they speak to you.