'Diaries' author Meg Cabot reaches out to younger princesses

It happens all the time: Whenever "Princess Diaries" author Meg Cabot does a book signing, young girls -- usually tagging along with their older sisters -- tell her wistfully that "my mom won't let me read your books."

The reason is simple. While the "Princess Diaries" movies are rated "G," the Cabot books on which they are based are focused on teen-age concerns, including sex. As a result, young movie fans often aren't allowed to read Cabot's "Princess Diaries" books or any of her other best-selling young-adult series.

Now, Cabot, 41, has decided to reach out to this younger audience by creating a new series, "Allie Finkle's Rules For Girls." Published by Scholastic, the series is aimed at girls ages 8-12 and features one of Cabot's typically plucky heroines, a fourth-grader named Allie Finkle.

Unlike Cabot's other books, however, there's no romance or even a hint of sex.

"When people first suggested that I write for this age group, I said, 'You're crazy -- I'll never write something that doesn't have kissing in it!' " Cabot laughed in a telephone interview from her home in Key West, Fla.

Thinking of her "untapped market" of young fans, however, Cabot decided to give it a try. The timing also seemed right, since her longtime editor had moved to Scholastic, which publishes numerous "middle grade" series -- books for readers ages 8-12.

After writing the first three books in the series, Cabot is hooked.

"I actually love it. At first, I really had to think back to that time, when I was in the fourth grade. ... But I'm one of those people who hangs onto everything -- all my school papers, my diaries, that kind of thing. And I got so much inspiration from those."

In fact, Cabot freely admits that "Allie is exactly like me when I was growing up." Like Cabot, 9-year-old Allie has two "pesky little brothers" and a dog. And, like Cabot, Allie tries to get along with her friends but doesn't always find it very easy.

"There are so many rules to remember and it's hard because no one will tell you what they are," Cabot said.

That's why Allie decides to start writing down the rules; hence the name for the series. In the first book, "Moving Day" ($15.99), Allie's rules are the titles for the chapters and they include the expected ("brothers -- and parents -- can be very insensitive"; Rule No. 4), as well as the unusual ("don't get a pet that poops in your hand"; Rule No. 2).

Allie sets the scene for the book with Rule No. 1 -- "don't stick a spatula down your best friend's throat." But, as Allie makes clear, her best friend, Mary Kay, is a whiny crybaby, and Allie just can't stop herself from breaking the rule. The girls eventually reconcile, but their friendship, already on rocky ground, founders when Allie proceeds to break Rule No. 3 -- "if you don't want a secret spread around, don't tell it to Scott Stamphley."

The secret, in this case, is the fact that Allie's family is moving to another part of town. Allie doesn't want to move, and much of the book revolves around her efforts, many of them comical, to keep her family from moving into a big dark house that is reputed to have a zombie hand in the attic.

Things eventually work out, but not before Allie has to deal with a final break from Mary Kay, a disastrous play date with a girl who's a bully and a trip to the principal's office.

It's all vintage Cabot, minus the romantic complications. As always, Cabot writes deftly, easily reeling in her readers from the first page with her ability to capture both the humor and drama in everyday situations.

Allie also is a hugely likable character, whose flaws will endear her to young readers. The complications Allie faces will be readily identifiable to readers, who will see Cabot holding a mirror to their own friendship squabbles and other concerns.

Cabot says she's under contract to Scholastic for at least six books in the series, but adds that "I hope to keep it going" past that. Still, readers won't see Allie growing into a teen-ager, Cabot promises.

"I really don't see Allie kissing -- oh, my God, no!" Cabot exclaimed. "These will stay books for kids. ... When kids finish with the Allie Finkle books, they'll be ready to move on to the other Meg Cabot books."

(Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.macpherson(at)gmail.com.)

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)