"Hale has written an original tale similar to the Grimm’s fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become queen. Anodori, Crown Princess of Kildenree (a.k.a. Ani), spends her first years under her aunt’s guidance learning to communicate with animals, but she is never comfortable speaking with people. When her silver-tongued lady-in-waiting leads a mutiny during Ani’s journey to be married in a foreign land, Ani is helpless and cannot persuade anyone to assist her. Becoming a goose girl for the king, Ani eventually uses her own special, nearly magical powers to find her way to her destiny. Ani is a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she becomes queen of the people she has made her own."--Ministry of Education website.

English language arts grade 6 (2009).