decent princess books out there? share titles with me, please!

[OakdaleMama]

My daughter loves all those princess books from Disney: Cinderella, Little Mermaid (princess underwater), etc. Many of them are scary, the girl/princess seems to be mainly valued for her looks, always a romance (which I think is a bit much for a 4 yr old), crappy illustrations, etc. I'm not going to go on. Ah, she finds these books at neighbors' homes, friends, library displays, etc.

So I'd love to give her some great, quality books with a princess theme/character. What fabulous titles do you have for me?

By the way, I tried to find some of those fact-y books at the library on princesses. She often says things like, "Princesses can't have babies" etc. So I wanted to read her stories of real women. Anyway, I couldn't lay my hands on a single simple book that explained the princess or royalty concept.

Thanks! --Nancy

[jaye]

try barefootbooks.com

beautiful artwork and princess stories from around the world.

good luck!

[kate~mom]

ahhhhhhh, we have quite a few because i have quite the princess, and like to fight the subliminal messages anyway i can...

do princesses wear hiking boots?
do princesses really kiss frogs?
princess smartypants
princess smartypants rules (i don't like this one as much)
the paperbag princess
princesses are not quitters.

sorry - can't think of authors off the top of my head.

[DarkHorseMama]

It is still a bit out of the age range of your DD (7-9 years old), but The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye is one of my favorite little stories.

[spero]

The Paper Bag Princess, by Robert Munsch

Sleeping Ugly, by Jane Yolen

and there's one about a princess who wouldn't use the potty - it's really cute, lemme see if I can find it.

ah, yes...

The Princess and the Potty, by Wendy Lewison

[QueenSheba'sMom]

:

my 3 (almost 4) yr old has a thing for princesses, too

[LadyMarmalade]

It is still a bit out of the age range of your DD (7-9 years old), but The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye is one of my favorite little stories.

I was just going to recommend this one! It's brilliant. It made me love the name Amethyst for a little girl.

[bobica]

we love both the princess & the potty & the paper bag princess. going to check out the other rx.....

[spero]

Oh, and "The Princess and the Bowling Ball" in the book The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (John Scieszka/Lane Smith) is a good one, too....

[LunaMom]

We have The Barefoot Book of Princesses and we love it. Each story is from a different country, and it is beautifully illustrated.

As far as Disney goes, you can make sure she is exposed to the less "princessy" heroines such as Mulan and Pocahontas (although the whole warping of the true Pocahontas story bugs a lot of people, she IS a strong female in the Disney version).

We also have The Paper Bag Princess and love it. A great spoof on a princess story is Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson.

[kewb]

The Princess Knight is a favorite in our house.

[OakdaleMama]

OK mamas, you rock. Keep those titles coming. I've got all on the way to my library branch right now. Thank you so much for not telling me that Disney stories are beautiful and timeless. I should have known not to worry. Back to more princesses with dirty feet and clever dialogue . . .