The Big Princess    by Taro Miura Order:  USA  Can Candlewick, 2015 (2015) Hardcover, Softcover     Reviewed by Bob Walch Although I like Japanese author-illustrator Taro Miura's books, I have to admit his story lines can be a little quirky to say the least. Whether that's a translation problem or cultural situation I don't know, but this latest picture book offers a good example of what I mean. In the story a childless king and queen discover a very little girl whom they can adopt. Unfortunately, the child is cursed for some reason (we never find out why) and she grows bigger and bigger until she outgrows the castle and becomes a threat to the kingdom. The king then figures out how to break the odd spell (I'll let you discover how) and the princess gets smaller, but she never returns to normal size. Why does she still retain her large stature? That's never explained. In this instance you may have to just enjoy the art work here and not question the story itself. Or, perhaps, you and your child can try to come up with some answers to the questions this book raises. Calling this book whimsical begs the issue. Perhaps there is a link to the author's The Tiny King, but I'm afraid that isn't obvious. Can the author assume his reader is familiar with the book about the tiny king? I think not! Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews