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Grilled Cheese and Dragons

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Grilled Cheese and Dragons
(Princess Pulverizer #1)
Written by Nancy Krulik
Illustrated by Ben Balistreri
Penguin Workshop, 2018. Intermediate, p. 132.

Princess Serena isn't really interested in learning how to wear fancy dresses, or walk like an elegant princess. She's more interested in becoming a brave knight—complete with sword fighting. But her father thinks she needs to learn a little bit more about what it really takes to be a knight. He sends her on a quest to do good deeds for others, hoping she'll become a more giving, thoughtful person while doing so. On her quest, she encounters an actual knight, although he isn't what she expected, and a dragon with a talent for making amazing grilled cheese sandwiches. 

 "Grilled Cheese and Dragons" is a fun story about a spunky heroine who has a thing or two to learn about what it really means to be kind and brave. And although she's a princess by birth, she's far from prim, making her relatable to rough and tumble readers. Her story of learning and growth is a delightful one, and it proves that girls can be knights too, but that all knights need to learn the fundamentals of being a good person before they can claim the title. 
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