Princess Lily and the Great Cookie Mystery

Princess Lily and her family are the royalty of the Kingdom of Niska. Usually things are very calm,, but not today. The Royal Offices are buzzing, and there's a crisis in the mysterious cookie orchard. Only Princess Lily and her teacher, a magical tortoise, can solve the mystery. Will magic and high-tech gadgets be enough to help them save the day?To the reader:Comments from the author:Princess Lily and the Great Cookie Mystery began to take shape when my wife Karan asked me if I could write a story for our granddaughter Lily's birthday. I agreed on one condition: she had to draw the pictures. That's how she became the illustrator. When we presented the book to her and copies were passed around to other family and a few friends, we were told we should try to sell the book. Lily's parents gave their permission, and here we are.Without giving away too much of the story, I wanted to say that this is a good story for everyone in your family if you have kids between around five up to nine or ten years old. The king is very smart and kind, the queen is self-assured but gentle, and the prince is a bit of a scamp but not too much. I tried very hard to not let the magical and high-tech characters take over the story since I'm rather enamored with gadgets. Lily is a strong character, but not perfect. She needs a little help from time to time, but she doesn't stop until the mystery is solved. You see hints of her sense of humor once or twice. At the end of the book the extended family is gathering for a banquet. Everyone wants to be together. That's the kind of family we'd like to have whether we have it or are working towards it. Although it was a lot of work, Karan and I had a lot of fun bringing this book to Lily, and now to you. We hope you enjoy it. - Jim Whitt, 3/3/2011