Particularly when you meet "Princess BMX" by Marie Basting, the awesome story of a diminutive little girl who absolutely loves gadding about on her prized stunt bike.
The titular princess is bored. Bored with life in the palace. Bored with endless trying on of dresses, of balls and parties and all that ridiculous finery.
What cuts through the boredom? In a word, misbehaviour and if there's one thing the young princess excels at, it's getting into trouble in the pursuit of having fun, whether it's sliding down the grand staircase in a stinky old vegetable sack, or endlessly teasing Mum's micro-unicorn, or playing pranks on her brother Bertie.
Time for a princess like no other. Time for Princess BMX!
Deftly demonstrating that girls want to have as much awesome fun as boys, this is a rallying call-to-arms for all middle grade story fans who love their central characters brave, a tad naughty, and completely at ease with speaking their minds, and not shying away from a challenge.
"Princess BMX" by Marie Basting is out today, published by Chicken House Books (kindly supplied for review).