Every Little Girl is a Princess by Andree Prendergast (Illustrated by Riva England)
I review and read a lot of children's books and with a 4 and a half year old little girl, definitely a lot of princess ones. Every Little Girl is a Princess ($9.99 on Amazon) by Andree Prendergast is a different kind of princess story – one that finally shows little girls the power of being a good person that will in turn enhance self esteem. I read this book to Chloe and she loved it. She used to tell me before bed, "I wish I was a real princess". She hasn't said it again since I read her this book.
The book's heroine is Callie who much like my own Chloe, wishes she could be a real princess. Her dog Toby discovers an old book in the backyard that outlines the five virtues to be a real princess: faith, love, kindness, courage, and friendship. By accomplishing each virtue, "you will feel a warm glow inside". I loved that quote and as I read through the book, I also talked with Chloe about some of the good deeds she did and how good it made her feel. The book also celebrates each person's differences. Callie didn't like her red hair or freckles but came to embrace it all by the end of the story.
Needless to say, this book is a huge hit in my home. Sure Chloe still plays princess (along with her other make believe games) but she no longer pines for the false reality of princess royalty because she enjoys her life and seems to understand it all better.
I have been emailing back and forth with Andree for a couple of weeks now, excited to ask her how she was inspired to write this book. I also have to commend her for going the self-publishing route. Writing a book is not easy (trust me I know) but having to self-publish it is even harder. So if you have a little girl in your home or know of one, Every Little Girl is a Princess is the perfect story to give girls the boost and foundation to becoming a good strong person.
Here's more from the author Andree Prendergast:
I started writing the book, Every Little Girl is a Princess, several years before I had granddaughters [now 4 1/2 years old]. At that time, I wanted to write a story about a little girl who wanted to be a princess, and didn't have a lot, so she thought the answer to her happiness would be to become a princess. I didn't have a time table to finish the book, but kept at it, and never lost my desire to tell this story. I remember thinking that I wanted my book to send a very special message that would have meaning to little girls who perhaps weren't happy with themselves, but needed to believe that they were special just the way they were.As it turned out, after I became a grandmother, and was blessed with two beautiful granddaughters, my desire to finish my book was reignited! The message I had wanted to convey became clearer to me, and it was something I wanted to pass on to my granddaughters, as well as all little girls.
The message would stress that happiness doesn't result from having a lot of things, and that being a princess isn't really about being treated a certain way or looking a certain way. Being a princess is about who you are inside, and how you treat yourself and others. I was able to demonstrate this through the discovery of the princess virtues, faith, love, friendship, courage and kindness, all traits of a true princess. Little girls would find out that they had always possessed the princess traits, —they just had to discover them!
It's important for my granddaughters, and all little girls to love and accept themselves just as they are, and believe that they are good enough just the way they are!
($37.94 at Amazon) which is an electronic pen that works with their special paper books. They sent along a couple French versions of Rapunzel and Tinkerbell. I didn't realize how much she would enjoy the independence of being able to read and enjoy her books than with this TAG pen. I ended up getting her their beginning to read set as well as a few other English books. To me with a child who is multilingual this is fantastic because the same pen works for any of the language books as long as it's from LeapFrog. She can enjoy her French and English books now on her own.
