There’s no pretending to be a princess in this book in which pink is the predominant color: Rose likes being a queen. In fact, when Rose plays dress- up, she imagines herself as the Queen of France. Her parents are clearly used to their daughter’s imagination, and they converse with the Queen while going about their household chores. It turns out the Queen is looking for Rose, and Rose, once she emerges from her room transformed back into a little girl, is looking for the Queen. This leads to another costume change, and the back-and-forth continues. The banter between Rose’s parents and Rose (as both Queen and their daughter) is wonderful in this picture book that showcases creative play; loving, attentive parents; and a little girl who determines that being a Queen is okay for awhile, but being Rose is even better. Tim Wadham’s lively story full of engaging dialogue and details of each transformation is paired with Kady MacDonald Denton’s blithe illustrations in which Rose is spirited but not overly cute and precocious. (Ages 3–7)

Dressed up as a queen, a little girl has some endearing and funny audiences with two most obliging subjects — her mother and father.

When Rose wakes up one morning feeling royal, she dons her necklaces, bracelets, and crown. Soon the Queen of France emerges to survey her domain, disapproving of Rose’s mother’s thorny gardening choices and asking Rose’s father where the Royal Physician may be found. The odd thing is, when Rose returns to look for the Queen of France, she’s nowhere to be seen. And when the imperious queen comes back, she’s curious to know what Rose’s parents would think if she traded places with their little girl? With charming illustrations by Kady MacDonald Denton and a humorous tale by Tim Wadham, here is a sweet homage to the easy affection between parents and an imaginative child.