Archive | January 12, 2015

Regal Beagle

 

Regal Beagle

Regal Beagle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Regal Beagle

Vijay Khurana

Simon Greiner

Random House 2014

pbk., 121pp., RRP $A14.99

9780857983701

Tragedy has struck the kingdom and every person in the entire land is crying.  Their beloved Queen had died – a queen who was very good and very fair and very beautiful and who was much loved. Apart from the grief though, it has presented her advisors with a problem for the Queen has died without heirs – no husband, no children, no brothers, sisters, aunts or uncles or any distant relatives. Yet there has to be a new monarch.  Lord Runcible is very keen to put himself forward but first the Royal Scrolls are consulted and they reveal that the successor has to be the Queen’s best friend.  Which is all very well until they realise that the Queen’s best friend is a beagle named Lucy!

Lucy is offered the role and given the chance to think about it and she is very inclined to decline until she hears Lord Runcible carrying on and knows he is scheming and conniving to take the throne.  So she agrees but can a dog rule a kingdom?  Can she hold out against a flea infestation, a dog-napping and an icy cold dip in the river? 

This is a perfect story for either a read-aloud or a read-alone – it moves along at a fast clip and is just the right blend for the newly-independent reader.  It’s a light-hearted tale of the traditional good versus evil variety with an underlying message of trusting yourself and looking beyond the surface appearance. Readers eagerly looking for what’s on your New for You display will be very pleased to see this.