Princess Stories

"Every little girl is a princess, and there would be no need to say anything about it, except that she is always in danger of forgetting her rank, and behaving as if she had grown out of the mud. I have seen little princesses behave like children of thieves and lying beggars, and that is why they need to be told they are princesses."
George MacDonaldThe Princess and the Goblin

The ideal of the "princess" has been romanticized throughout literary history, sometimes to the point of absurdity. In popular culture, this has manifested itself primarily in two (harmful) trends. One portrays a princess as a stunningly beautiful woman whose life only begins when all her problems are solved by the appearance of Prince Charming and the other tries to overturn that trend by portraying an equally beautiful woman who gets everything she wants when she rebels against her parents or societal norms.

These are obviously not the kind of stories you want your daughters to be reading, but that's not to say you should throw out princess stories altogether. Princesses exemplify femininity in a way that is appealing to (and good for) girls of all ages, and there are books out there that accurately portray this.

Take the story of Cinderella, for example. She did all of the cooking, cleaning, washing, and sewing for an entire household—without a word of complaint. Sara Crewe gave to the poor even when she was the poorest she'd ever been. Princess Irene was brave in the face of great danger. Addie faced her worst fears to save her sister.

And you can't neglect stories about real princesses (and queens) alongside the fictional ones. Women like Pocahontas, Ka'iulani, or Elizabeth may not have stories as magical as those of Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Sleeping Beauty, but they also exhibit the kindness and fearlessness of a true princess.

Because, ultimately, a true princess should be defined by behavior, not by birth. Stories about brave and selfless women who care about others and are willing to do the right thing, no matter the cost, are the kinds of princesses worth reading about—and hopefully the kind that girls will grow up to be.

Review by Lauren Shearer
Lauren Shearer writes words for fun and profit. She also makes films, but everyone knows you can't make a profit doing that. Her other hobby is consistently volunteering way too much of her time.
You can read more of her reviews here.

 

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Adelita
by Tomie DePaola
Reprint from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Anna of Byzantium
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from Random House
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by Noel Streatfeild
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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2018 Hardcover from Random House Books for Young Readers
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by Robin McKinley
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$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
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by Robin McKinley
from Greenwillow Books
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from CreateSpace
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by Marcia Brown (translator)
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Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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Cinderella
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
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Cinderella
by David Delamare
from Simon and Schuster
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
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by Paul Galdone
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
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Cinderella
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$9.50 (1 in stock)
Cinderella
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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from William Morrow & Company
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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Cleopatra VII
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from Scholastic Inc.
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from Inheritance Publications
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from CreateSpace
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by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Louis Rhead
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1985 Newbery Medal Winner
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by Robin McKinley
from ACE Publishing
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by Eva March Tappan
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Biography for 10th-Adult
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King Midas and the Golden Touch
by Charlotte Craft, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft
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King's Equal
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Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Ned Bustard
from Rabbit Room Press
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Light Princess
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from William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
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Little Princess
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Little Princess
Puffin Classics
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
from Puffin Books
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Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
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Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from HarperCollins
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$17.99
Little Princess
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from Charles Scribner's Sons
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by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Illustrated by Ethel Franklin Betts
Illustrated Fir from SeaWolf Press
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$8.45
Little Princess
Puffin Classics
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
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Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
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Lost Princess of Oz
Wizard of Oz Book 11
by L. Frank Baum
from Dover Publications
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by L. Frank Baum (illustrated by John R. Neill)
from HarperCollins
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Many Moons
by James Thurber
2nd edition from Harcourt
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
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$8.00
Many Moons
by James Thurber & Louis Slobodkin
from Harcourt
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
1944 Caldecott medal winner
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$7.00 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
by Eloise J. McGraw
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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$8.99
Mara, Daughter of the Nile
by Eloise J. McGraw
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
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Mary, Bloody Mary
A Young Royals Book
by Carolyn Meyer
from Harcourt
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by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers
from Atheneum
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Midnight Dancers
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1st edition from Chesterton Press
Modern Fairy Tale for
Nzingha
Royal Diaries
by Patricia McKissack
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
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Ordinary Princess
by M. M. Kaye
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-6th grade
$7.99
Paper Bag Princess
by Robert Munsch
39th Printing, December 2000 from Annick Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
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$4.00 (3 in stock)
Perilous Gard
by Elizabeth Marie Pope
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
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Perilous Gard
by Elizabeth Marie Pope
from Puffin Books
Historical Fantasy for 7th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Honor Book
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Perrault's Fairy Tales
by Charles Perrault, Gustave Dore
from Dover Publications
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$12.95
Persian Cinderella
by Shirley Climo & Robert Florczak
Reprint from HarperCollins
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$8.99
Pocahontas
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Beautiful Feet Books
Picture Book Biography for 3rd-6th grade
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$17.95
Pocahontas and the Strangers
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Scholastic Inc.
Biographies for 3rd-5th grade
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Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker
Childhood of Famous Americans
by Leslie Gourse
from Aladdin Paperbacks
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$7.99
Princess Adelina
by Julie Sutter
from Vision Forum
Historical fiction / Irish missions for 7th-10th grade
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
Princess and Curdie
Puffin Classics
by George MacDonald
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
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$7.99
Princess and Curdie
by George MacDonald
from Living Book Press
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
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$9.99
Princess and Curdie
by George MacDonald
from Canon Press
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
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$13.95
Princess and the Goblin
Puffin Classics
by George MacDonald
from Puffin Books
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Princess and the Goblin
Everyman Library
by George MacDonald
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
$18.00
Princess and the Goblin
by George MacDonald
from Living Book Press
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
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$9.99
Princess and the Goblin
Puffin Classics
by George MacDonald
from Canon Press
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
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$13.95
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