Eleven-year-old Elspeth Pule fits the nursery rhyme "There Was a Little Girl" to a tee. When she throws a tantrum, it is a doozy, and she can hold her breath until she passes out. After doing the latter once too often, she ends up in a world very different from her own e where nursery rhyme characters live in fear of King Krool. Here Elspeth learns she is really the daughter of Jack and Jill, and it is her duty to dethrone King Krool and restore the characters to their rightful places. For a selfish brat, thinking of others isn't her style, but she slowly learns that the power of friendship and family can change a person. Each chapter is introduced with an authentic nursery rhyme, and Swallow interweaves familiar characters (e.g., Humpty Dumpty and Jack Horner) with Elspeth's fantasy adventure to engage readers in a creative way. An extended reading of the rhymes beforehand will provide students with some background for the tongue-in-cheek humor.

After bratty preteen Elspeth passes out mid-tantrum, she wakes in a strange forest populated by fractured nursery rhyme characters. Though she tries to remain selfish, Elspeth ends up leading the charge against Old King Krool. A rousing battle between good and evil grounds this zany amalgam--with echoes of Dahl and Snicket--of snarky dialogue, dynamic characters, and clever twists on familiar rhymes.