Trollbella, who leads an underground kingdom, can't understand why she's feeling blue at the lavish birthday party she's thrown for herself--until she meets a poor party-crashing goblin boy. Readers may like the semi-grotesque, caricaturish art, in which Trollbella resembles Miss Piggy, but the writing is dripping with treacle ("Everything is much more fun when you have someone to share it with").

K-Gr 2Expanding on his best-selling series, Colfer focuses on supporting character Trollbella, the Troll Queen. The monarch throws a lavish birthday party for herself, complete with a clown, musicians, and rainbow kittens. Despite the excitement, she is still unhappy until she learns to share her wealth with her subjects and a special child who shares her birthday. The plot is nothing new, of course, but it's still delightful to see it unfold, given Colfer's knowledge of folktales. By using classical folktale elements, Colfer crafts an entertaining story that seems straight out of a forgotten Grimm collection. Dorman's artwork also greatly contributes to the piece; similar at times to the style of Paul O. Zelinsky's classic fairy-tale books, it recalls a Renaissance setting but with some modern elements mixed in that truly make this selection a joy to read. VERDICT Definitely for fans of the series, but this title certainly has legs of its ownhighly recommended.Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI