The classic story of the prince and the pauper is given a crafty twist here when young Pignatious sneaks into the palace on the trail of buns and accidently finds himself in the prince’s bedchamber. He thinks it’s splendid and is particularly taken with the box of ‘dressing up clothes’. Kitted out in a lovely pair of blue knickerbockers and a slightly too big wig, pig is mistaken for prince and has a great time ordering everyone around. The error is discovered, but the real prince finds a way to make the situation work to his benefit and his imposter’s. Peter Bently’s rhyming text is a treat to read aloud, while David Roberts has a ball with the illustrations: pig, prince and courtiers look wonderful, and the double page showing the palace guard before and after Pignatious orders them to cartwheel is a joy. This will become a real favourite. ~ Andrea Reece
Pignatius was passing the palace one day, when he saw ten fresh buns left to cool on a tray… Sneaking into the palace, looking for more treats, Pignatius tries on a wig and some clothes and the servants mistake him for the real prince! Of course the rein of this porky impostor can't last long, but when the actual prince returns, he saves Pignatius's bacon. It turns out that he's always wanted a double to deal with a particularly frightening dragon… his Aunt Alice!
