Princess Stories - Exodus Books

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"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 MacDonald, The 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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Princess Stories

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1st grade (Ages 6-7)

	Adelita by Tomie DePaola Reprint from Puffin Books for Nursery-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	Baba Yaga and Vasilisa the Brave by written by Marianna Mayer, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft First Edition from HarperCollins for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $17.99
	Beauty and the Beast by Jan Brett from Sandpiper Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	Beauty and the Beast by M. Charlotte Craft, K. Y. Craft from HarperCollins for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $19.99
	Cinderella by Marcia Brown (translator) from Aladdin Paperbacks Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1955 Caldecott Medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Cinderella Everyman's Library Children's Classics by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 1st-4th grade in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $15.95
	Cinderella by K. Y. Craft from Chronicle Books for Preschool- 3rd Grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Cinderella by David Delamare from Simon and Schuster for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Cinderella by Paul Galdone Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers for Kindergarten-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Cinderella Everyman's Library Children's Classics by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. for 1st-4th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Egyptian Cinderella by Shirley Climo & Ruth Heller from HarperCollins for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99
	Emperor and the Kite by Jane Yolen from Putnam Juvenile for Kindergarten-2nd grade 1968 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $6.99
	Fairy Tale Set #1 Illustrated by K.Y. Craft by K. Y. Craft, Illustrator in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Fairy's Return and Other Princess Tales by Gail Carson Levine from HarperCollins for 1st-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $7.99
	Grimms' Fairy Tales The Classic Edition by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Don Daily from Applesauce Press for 1st-5th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $18.95
	Grimms' Fairy Tales by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Louis Rhead from SeaWolf Press for 1st-5th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
	King Midas and the Golden Touch by Charlotte Craft, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft from HarperCollins for Nursery-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	King Midas and the Golden Touch by Charlotte Craft, Illustrated by K. Y. Craft from William Morrow & Company for Nursery-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	King's Equal by Katherine Paterson from HarperCollins Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	King's Equal by Katherine Paterson from HarperCollins Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $6.99
	Light Princess (adapted) by George MacDonald, adapted by Robin McKinley and illustrated by Katie Thamer Treherne from Harcourt Children's Books Fantasy for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Many Moons by James Thurber 2^nd edition from Harcourt Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.00
	Many Moons by James Thurber & Louis Slobodkin from Harcourt Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade 1944 Caldecott medal winner in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.00 $4.50 (2 in stock)
	May I Bring a Friend? by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers from Atheneum for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch 39th Printing, December 2000 from Annick Press for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $4.00 (3 in stock)
	Persian Cinderella by Shirley Climo & Robert Florczak Reprint from HarperCollins for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Princess and the Pea by Hans Christian Andersen & Dorothee Duntze from North-South Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $7.95
	Princess Stories A Classic Illustrated Ed, from Chronicle Books for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT)
	Rapunzel by Paul Zelinsky from Puffin Books Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-4th grade 1998 Caldecott Medal winner in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $9.99
	Rapunzel by Alix Berenzy from Henry Holt and Company for 1st-4th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Sleeping Beauty by K. Y. Craft from Chronicle Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Sleeping Beauty & Cinderella by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham 100th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press for 1st-4th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $7.95
	Snow Princess by Ruth Sanderson from Crocodile Books for Preschool-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $17.95
	Snow White by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Charles Santore from Sterling Publishing Co. for Kindergarten-4th grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $16.95
	Snow White by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Charles Santore from Random House for Kindergarten-4th grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
	Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs by Wanda Gag from University of Minnesota for Preschool-2nd grade 1939 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Bess Livings from Laughing Elephant for Kindergarten-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs by Wanda Gag from Smithmark Publishers for Preschool-2nd grade 1939 Caldecott Honor Book in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
	Snow-White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Tale from the Brothers Grimm by Brothers Grimm, translated by Randall Jarrell and illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert Sunburst Edition, 1987 from Square Fish Publishing for Kindergarten-3rd grade 1973 Caldecott Honor Book in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $9.99
	True Story of Pocahontas A Step into Reading Book Level 3 by Lucille Recht Penner from Random House for 1st-3rd grade in Step into Reading (Location: EAR-STEP) $5.99
	Twelve Dancing Princesses by Marianna Mayer from William Morrow & Company for 1st-3rd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.99
	Twelve Dancing Princesses by Ruth Sanderson Reprint from Crocodile Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.95
	Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie from Puffin Books for Preschool-2nd grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)

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