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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
School is out, summer stretches ahead, and Princess Polly has room for friendship, games, and a little mischief.
In Princess Polly at Play, Amy Brooks follows a little girl into the easy days of a summer holiday. The usual schoolweek rules loosen, leaving space for companions and the small adventures children invent. This is a world of play rather than rushing plots, where an ordinary day offers pleasures worth lingering over.
Friendship, mischief, and growing up shape this gentle children's classic. Polly stands at its center, with a nickname that captures the story's affectionate tone. The pace is calm, the manners belong to another age, and the language is sometimes formal. Read it for the texture of childhood, the company of friends, and the freedom of summer.
What you’ll discover
- A girl called Princess Meet Polly, the child at the heart of Amy Brooks's gentle series.
- Summer without the school bell Settle into holiday days when school is out and children have room to play.
- The pleasure of companions Explore a story shaped by friendship and the small adventures of a child's days.
- A little welcome mischief Enjoy the lighter mood of games and the mischief children invent during summer.
- Childhood at a calmer pace Spend time with old-fashioned manners and a story that invites you to slow down.
Who will love it
Readers who love seaside summers, spirited girls and gentle mischief will enjoy this story, as will anyone who likes loyal friends, kind families and a ship coming home.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Gwen brings trouble to the shore
- The prowler wants attention rather than treasure
- Max mistakes cruelty for a game
- The pageant hides a quieter worry
- Rose seeks warmth rather than grandeur
- Shared hope warms the Seafords home
- Honest care matters more than praise
- Kindness gives the summer its meaning
Who’s who
- Princess Polly SherwoodA gentle, graceful girl from Avondale who loves dancing and sea air, and wants a happy summer with her friends.
- Rose AthertonCaptain Atherton's young niece, kind and brave, who loves her uncle's home and fears being taken away from it.
- Sprite SeafordA fair-haired child of the shore, a skilled swimmer and rower, who longs to see her father free of worry.
- Gwen HarcourtA pretty, bold girl who tells wild stories and demands her own way, yet usually obeys Max.
- Max DelandA saucy boy who dares others to do daring things and wants to be seen as brave without taking any risk.
- Captain SeafordSprite's father, a kindly captain who mends nets by the shore and waits anxiously for a ship carrying his investment.
- Captain John AthertonRose's warm-hearted uncle, owner of The Cliffs and the yacht Dolphin, who plans a joyful surprise for the summer.
- Mrs. HarcourtGwen's fond mother, who admires every prank and wants everyone to agree that her daughter is clever.
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Princess Polly at Play in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Princess Polly at Play
by Amy Brooks
Three friends spend a summer by the sea, and one bold girl keeps turning every beach day into trouble.
Easy read2–5 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with easy classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
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In short
What happens when a girl who believes that screaming gets her everything follows her neighbors to the seaside? Princess Polly Sherwood and Rose Atherton count the days until summer at Cliffmore, a fishing village where their friend Sprite Seaford lives in a house made from an upturned ship.
Princess Polly at Play at a glance
- Reading time
- About 2 h1 h 35 min fast, 2 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 28,500 words
- Library level
- Easy short sentences, plain words
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Gwen arrives at Cliffmore before anyone expects her
The story opens in Avondale, where Polly and Rose can think of nothing but the shore. They remember Sprite dressed as a mermaid on the rocks, and her home made from the hull of a ship, turned upside down and split into rooms. This year the girls will finish the trip by water on Captain Atherton's yacht, the Dolphin.
Then Gwen Harcourt comes racing up the avenue. She walks into any house with an open door and stays as long as she likes. This morning she has marched in on new neighbors and judged them rudely. She announces that she does not want to go to Cliffmore, hiding the fact that her demands to go have failed.
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Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 2 h 15 min
- Level
- Easy read
Cite this edition
Brooks, Amy. Princess Polly at Play. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/princess-polly-at-play.
Brooks, A. (2026). Princess Polly at play. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/princess-polly-at-play
Brooks, Amy. Princess Polly at Play. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/princess-polly-at-play.
@book{brooks2026princess,
author = {Brooks, Amy},
title = {Princess Polly at Play},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/princess-polly-at-play}
}
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What is Princess Polly at Play about?
It follows one summer at the seaside village of Cliffmore, where Princess Polly, Rose and Sprite enjoy dances, boats, a pageant and a wedding while mischievous Gwen and Max keep stirring up trouble.
Who is Gwen Harcourt in Princess Polly at Play?
Gwen is a pretty, bold neighbor who tells wild stories, walks into other people's houses and expects her own way. Her mother praises her rudeness, so she rarely learns, except from the consequences of her scrapes.
Why is Sprite Seaford's house made from a ship?
Sprite lives with her parents in the hull of an old ship, turned upside down and divided into rooms, which they call the Syren's Cave. It suits a captain's family and shows how simple their life is.
The author
Amy Brooks
American children's writer and illustrator
Amy Brooks wrote books for young readers in a series about Princess Polly and her friends at Avondale, and many other girls' stories of home, school and holidays. This book shows her world of seaside summer colonies, yachts, pageants and village life, told in an easy voice with clear lessons about kindness, friendship and family.
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