For Pincesses That Stand on Their Own Two Feet

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Jan 7, 2012 in Home & Beyond

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Don't Bet on the Prince: I've only read the first story and it made me cry! (Side note: my doctor called me a couple of nights ago saying my brain is making slightly more of a certain hormone that is normal - might be the reason I've been emotional the past few years! So, if you don't cry, it's probably bc I'm an emotional basket case).

My daughter, five years old, was able to follow me reading it to her pretty well. And we were able to have an intelligent conversation about it. I look forward to reading the rest with my daughter and seeing what she thinks of the different situations presented in it. Though I haven't read the whole thing, I already, and definitely, recommend it to any girl - young or old :).

It's a collection of short stories and is about 270 pages (much shorter than I had expected - I was expecting 1,000 for a collection of stories, but this may have been skewed by a Hans Christian Anderson course I just took where his collection of works was well over 1,000 pages). It's not all stories though: an end of the chunk is an analysis of fairytales and the female aspects in them. It was written by a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor. Though, I haven't read that section of the book yet, I've had to read some of his work and it's very deep and sometimes hard to understand. So I wouldn't recommend getting this book if that was the majority of why you wanted to read the book - for the analysis.

I've had my eye on this book for a while and found it at my school library. As you know, once in a while I'll go into a rant about society's pressures on girls and on how some people raise them - this was recommended to me bc of one of them :).

The Paper Bag Princess: This is one of those books that make you think "Yeah! I'm a girl!" Though it's a picture book and pretty short (as they are) you root for the root for the princess and despise the prince.

I kept on hearing about this and finally looked into it when I took my fairy tales class and the professor mentioned it. I found a YouTube "movie" of it which really got my daughter interested in the book. So much that it inspired her to be "The Paper Bag Princess" for this last Halloween (no pictures, but I'm going to make her dress up like it again so I can take pictures!).

If it's not a "classic" children's' story right now, it should be. I find that not many know about it (one lady though my daughter was "recycling" when we were out and about, and many had to ask what she was - boo!) - so tell your friends about it! I think friends of the female persuasion and people with little girls will find it particularly entertaining (inspiring?).

<3

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Comments (17)

all children need self estem boosts and this is a cool book Report Spam Posted by lissln at 8:01 AM on 01/07/12
I've heard really good things about the Paper Bag Princess. It's nice to have books that you can have a good conversation about with your daughter. I also really like Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. It was one of my favorite books to read as a child and it had such a good message. I'm torn about the Rainbow fish, that book was controversial for a children's book. I also like the American Girl books because they have some history involved with them and they also have a good message. Report Spam Posted by jessicachanel at 10:59 AM on 01/07/12
OMG! I can't believe you chose to review these two books - They are two of my favorites!! Seriously! Report Spam Posted by sorapandora at 12:00 PM on 01/07/12
good reviews...don't know them and don't have any daughters,but like the concepts...will have to find them at a library...love that you discuss books with your daughter! Report Spam Posted by artisangoods at 1:01 PM on 01/07/12
Women Who Run With Wolves for kids? Sounds good. Report Spam Posted by markblemish at 2:11 PM on 01/07/12
:) Report Spam Posted by luv2kreate at 6:59 PM on 01/07/12
Cool!!! I've never heard of these books before, but will check out the library to see if I can find them, to read to my 8 yr. old granddaughter Gwen!!! Report Spam Posted by susan_brown at 10:47 PM on 01/07/12
I really haven't read these books and thank you for sharing and I better your daughter is just as lovely as her mother <3 Love, Linda Report Spam Posted by hawklns1 at 10:54 PM on 01/07/12
I bet your daughter looks as lovely as her mother does <3 Love, Linda Report Spam Posted by hawklns1 at 11:01 PM on 01/07/12
These are great choices for a little girl. Report Spam Posted by x0xsharicex0x at 12:23 PM on 01/08/12
Those sound fun! I took a fairy tales class in college too and it was really interesting. Report Spam Posted by sweans at 3:00 PM on 01/08/12
I love the paper bag princess! Any time someone asks for a good girl book, this is my go-to. I also like the princess knight by Cornelia Funke. Report Spam Posted by gregsgal at 7:11 PM on 01/08/12
Also, I'm excited to see your little girl's paper bag princess costume! Report Spam Posted by gregsgal at 7:12 PM on 01/08/12
This sounds like a book I would like to check out!!! : } Report Spam Posted by kelsjax at 9:53 PM on 01/08/12
Paper Bag Princess was one of my faves growing up..glad to know it's still being enjoyed. I agree, these def should be read to kids. Disney princesses are fun, but that's ALL they should be, not something to aspire to or as any type of true role model. too easy for litle girls to get confused Report Spam Posted by pinkone at 8:54 AM on 01/09/12
Thanks for sharing, I definitely want to check them out! Report Spam Posted by sweeetkristen at 10:55 AM on 01/09/12
Absolutely awesome! I wil be purchasing. Here's something from one of my lists you might like: http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/self-rescuing-princess--kids?refItemId=AAAAA2iEPh0AAAAAAkvZMQ&fromStoreDomain=thinkgeek.com Report Spam Posted by miss_daphne at 3:28 PM on 01/11/12