{"product_id":"grilled-cheese-and-dragons-1-isbn-9780515158311","title":"Grilled Cheese and Dragons #1","description":"\u003cb\u003eMeet the princess who'd rather wear a suit of armor than a crown!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePrincess Serena (or as she prefers, Princess Pulverizer) doesn't want to be a princess--she wants to be knight! But her father, King Alexander of Empiria, thinks she still has a lot to learn when it comes to exhibiting valiant behavior. So he presents a challenge: the princess must first go on a Quest of Kindness and perform good deeds to prove that she truly deserves to go to knight school. With help from a friendly dragon named Dribble and a perpetually terrified knight-in-training named Lucas, can she complete her quest and discover what it really takes to be a hero?*“Very funny series.”—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, starred review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A wacky adventure that stands out through highlighting its heroine's foibles, giving her plenty of room to grow in future installments.\" —\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This spirited chapterbook is an obvious choice for Princess in Black grads and Hamster Princess fans.\" —\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A strong series opener and a solid choice for those looking to increase their early chapter book holdings.\" —\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eNancy Krulik\u003c\/b\u003e (she\/her) is the author of more than two hundred books for children and young adults, including three \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003eBest Sellers. She is best known as the author and creator of the Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo; George Brown, Class Clown; How I Survived Middle School; and Magic Bone book series. Nancy lives in Manhattan with her husband, composer Daniel Burwasser. When she's not writing, Nancy can be found reading, going to concerts, traveling, or running around Central Park with her crazy beagle mix, Josie. Follow her @NancyKrulik.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBen Balistreri \u003c\/b\u003e(he\/him) has been working for more than twenty years in the animation industry. He's won an Emmy Award for his character designs, and has been nominated for nine Annie Awards, winning once. His art can be seen in \u003ci\u003eTangled the Series\u003c\/i\u003e, for which he serves as Supervising Producer, \u003ci\u003eHow to Train Your Dragon\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eDanny Phantom\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eFoster's Home for Imaginary Friends\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWander Over Yonder\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWild Kratts\u003c\/i\u003e, and many more. The Princess Pulverizer series is his first foray into book illustration. He lives in Pasadena, California, with his wife, Becca, and their two golden retrievers, Bombadil and Fatty Lumpkin.\u003cb\u003eChapter 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  “Princess Serena!” Lady Frump shouted angrily. “Come down from there right now! Princesses do not hang from the ceiling.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But the Royal Princess of Empiria was not ready to come down. She didn’t want to sit at the table with her classmates, learning about the proper manners to use at a tea party. Who cared how you held your pinkie when you picked up your teacup? Tea parties were no fun at all.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But swinging from the rafters—now, \u003ci\u003ethat \u003c\/i\u003ewas fun!\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The princess began swaying back and forth over the heads of the other girls in her class.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Back and forth.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Back and forth.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Back and forth.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e She swung her legs higher and higher in the air.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Wheeee!” the princess shouted down to her classmates. “You guys should really try this. It’s amazing. I feel like I’m flying.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The girls stared up at her in surprise. No one disobeyed Lady Frump. \u003ci\u003eEver.\u003c\/i\u003e She was the toughest, scariest teacher at the Royal School of Ladylike Manners.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e But Lady Frump didn’t frighten the princess at all. \u003ci\u003eNobody\u003c\/i\u003e frightened her.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e She was the bravest girl in all of Empiria.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Maybe even in the whole world.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e So she just kept swinging.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Back and forth.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Back and . . .\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “WHOA!” The princess let out a loud yelp as she lost her grip on the rafters.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSPLASH!\u003c\/i\u003e The princess’s royal bottom landed right in a big bowl of ooey-gooey purplish pomegranate pudding.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eSMASH. \u003c\/i\u003eSpoons, forks, knives, teacups, and saucers crashed to the floor. There was broken china everywhere.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The princess looked up at Lady Frump. The teacher’s face was beet red. Her eyes were tightened into tiny angry slits. And she was clutching her handkerchief in a sweaty fist.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Oops,” the princess said sheepishly.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Now look what you’ve done!” Lady Frump scolded. “Why didn’t you come down carefully when I asked you to, Princess Serena?”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Well, for one thing, that’s not my name,” the princess replied. “I’ve told you that a million times.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e A few of the girls gasped.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Serena is the name your father, King Alexander, gave you,” Lady Frump reminded her.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “But it’s not the \u003ci\u003eright \u003c\/i\u003ename for me,” the princess explained. “Serena comes from the word \u003ci\u003eserene\u003c\/i\u003e. And \u003ci\u003eserene\u003c\/i\u003e means calm and peaceful. I’m neither of those.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Lady Frump couldn’t argue with that.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eNobody\u003c\/i\u003e could argue with that.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “That’s why I gave myself a new name,” the princess continued. “From now on, I want everyone to call me Princess Pulverizer.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Princess Pulverizer is not a proper name for a royal girl,” Lady Frump told her.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Says who?” Princess Pulverizer argued.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “I . . . I . . . well . . . ,” Lady Frump stammered.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e The girls all stared at Princess Pulverizer in awe. She’d stumped Lady Frump. \u003ci\u003eAmazing.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Never mind,” Lady Frump said, wiping her forehead with her handkerchief. “I will have two of the scullions from the kitchen come and clean up this mess later. And you, Princess \u003ci\u003eSerena\u003c\/i\u003e, will help them.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Princess Pulverizer gasped with surprise. She wasn’t sure which was more shocking—the idea that her teacher would expect her to clean up the mess with the kitchen maids, or that she refused to call her by her new name.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “In the meantime, we will head into the ballroom to practice dancing the saltarello,” Lady Frump continued. “I want all of you to be able to dance beautifully at the ball next month.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Princess Pulverizer frowned as she followed her classmates into the ballroom. The only thing worse than tea-party lessons was dance lessons.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Princess Pulverizer was not a great dancer.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e She wasn’t even a good dancer.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Actually, she was a \u003ci\u003elousy\u003c\/i\u003e dancer.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e To make matters worse, the ballroom was right above the courtyard where the boys in Knight School did their training. The boys looked like they were having so much fun, riding on their horses and having sword fights. And here she was, stuck moving her feet to the same beat, over and over again.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Tap, tap, hop. Tap, tap, hop . . . ,” Lady Frump repeated as she clapped her hands. “Ladies, please dance to the rhythm.”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Princess Pulverizer looked out the window and watched as two of the knights-in-training drew swords. They began fencing, poking each other’s armor with their weapons.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eClang. Clang.\u003c\/i\u003e Every time one of the swords hit their metal suits, it made a loud noise that echoed all the way up to the ballroom.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eClip-clop. Clip-clop.\u003c\/i\u003e Three other boys rode by on horseback. All of them—even the horses—were dressed in armor.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Princess Pulverizer scowled. It just wasn’t fair.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Why did the boys get to wear full suits of armor and ride on horses, while she was stuck trying to hop around a dance floor in a silly lace gown?\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e And why did the boys get to wear those valiant visors when they fenced, while she was stuck having to balance a tiara on her head as she danced the saltarello? A visor had a purpose—it kept a knight safe. But what was the point of a tiara?\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Tap, tap, hop . . . Tap, tap, hop . . . ,” Lady Frump continued. “Girls! Please pay attention. Tap, tap . . .”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Princess Pulverizer tap-tap-hopped her way over to the window for a better look at the two boys who were fencing. One of them was actually pretty good. He moved his feet quickly and was able to block most of the jabs that came from his opponent.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e From Princess Pulverizer’s point of view, fencing didn’t look that hard. All you had to do was dance around a little and poke at someone with a sword.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e A few lunges here.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e A few steps backward there.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e A poke.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e A jab.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e And maybe a little twirl—just to make it look fancy.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e What was the big deal about fencing, anyway?\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eLunge.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eStep.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003ePoke.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eJab.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eTwirl.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eOOMF!\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “Whoa!” Princess Pulverizer exclaimed as she bashed into one of the girls in her class.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Who crashed into the girl on her left.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Who knocked down the two girls on either side of her.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Who both collapsed \u003ci\u003eright on top of Lady Frump\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e “PRINCESS SERENA!” Lady Frump shouted angrily as she climbed out from under the pile of crowns, shoes, petticoats, arms, and legs. “What am I going to do with you?”\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Princess Pulverizer looked down at the purplish pudding stain on her dress.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e She stared at the wiggling mountain of classmates on the ground.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e And for once, the princess had no answer for Lady Frump.","brand":"Penguin Workshop","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304918700261,"sku":"NP9780515158311","price":7.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780515158311.jpg?v=1767728504","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/grilled-cheese-and-dragons-1-isbn-9780515158311","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}