A captivating and magical tale, Princess Zaara and the Enchanted Forest, by children's author Umbreen Asghar is the sort of tale that sparks the imagination and fuels a child's curiosity. With lavish, highly stylized illustrations by Diane Lucas, this beginning children's book introduces a curious Spanish princess named Zaara. She's seven and the only thing she wants in the whole wide kingdom is to explore the forest that is just beyond her empire, so when she gets a chance, she jumps at it. She discovers that the forest is all she has ever heard or dreamed about, and there in the mesmerizing dark folds, keeping her royal lineage a secret, she makes friends. They're a curious lot. There's Morgan the Giant, Elvin the Elf, Banji the Bear and Tiffany-Annabel, all who bring something special to the group. When an evil wood spirit puts a spell on her new pals, Zaara shows courage and tenacity befitting the best sort of princess--the kind that is a friend first.Spellbinding and filled with smart humour, Princess Zaara and the Enchanted Forest describes a delightful place. It is a place of hidden mysteries, secret smiles, and lots of laughter, not to mention a young princess who wants to be more than royalty. This little will-be-queen-someday wants to be an adventurer--and a really good friend. With elegant illustrations by Diane Lucas, this timeless fairytale is a very special beginning children's book for your little princess or prince.
There are 36 pages in this book. This book was published 2009 by CreateSpace .
Diane Lucas currently works as an ethnocologist with her husband. They travel around northern Australia doing work related to this as well as botanical and fire ecology work. Diane was a school teacher on an Aboriginal outstation in Kakadu during 1983 and 84. From 1991 to 96 she worked on a research project documenting traditional resources on the South Alligator River floodplain and surrounds. She now lives only two hours from Kakadu and maintains a strong relationship with the people and country there. Illustrator bio:Ken Searle is a painter and illustrator who is represented in major galleries in Australia and internationally. He designed and facilitated the illustratons done by over 40 Anangu staff and students for Papunya School Book of Country and History (Papunya School, A+U 2001), designed When I Was Little Like You (Mary Malbunka, A+U 2002) and illustrated Lucy in the Leap Year (Nadia Wheatley, Omnibus, 1993.
