Princess stories – with a twist!
Jane B. Mason and Sara Hines Stephens have written a fun, inspired, and empowering series of books about princesses. So rather than sitting around waiting for the next Princess Diaries book, get the Princess School series and settle in for an afternoon of sweet reading.
(They are written for girls, but I found that they apply to the Inner Princess we have, even as grown ups. And if you have young girls, I wholeheartedly recommend getting these for them. They are published by Scholastic.)
While the Princesses themselves will sound familiar – Ella (Cinderella) , Briar Rose (called “Beauty”), Snow White, Rapunzel – their antics and adventures are anything but. Rather than waiting for their prince or knight-in-shining-armor to arrive and save the day, these young princesses set about learning about how to be a proper princess and how to take care of themselves in the process.
Think “Harry Potter” – only not so complex and not as much evil-doing. The princesses are attending school – duh – and have evil witches (who attend Grimm School) to deal with, as well as some nasty step-sisters and grumpy old fairies with a grudge. Of course there are other classmates who can’t handle how competent and kind the princesses are. And sometimes the princesses get a bit snippy, too. Just like real women.
In one of the books, Rapunzel dresses as a knight and participates in the jousting contest being held at Charm School – the boy’ school next door. And, you guessed it, she wins. But, not before she goes through the internal struggle of what will happen to her friendship with Prince Val if she beats him. This is the same dilemma many smart and talented girls go through as they grow up – what to do when the boys can’t deal with how smart you are. And, it’s also the dilemma many of you tell me you go through at work. Maybe not so much as before, but women in the workplace still face pressure not to be too strong or successful, and how to deal with it if their boss is intimidated.
In the first book, If the Shoe Fits, Ella does have a pair of glass slippers – but they are too big, so she stumbles around and gets blisters trying to keep them on her feet. It’s the first day of school, her fairy godmother is away at a conference, and she has no shoes to wear other than the glass slippers. What does this self-rescuing princess do? She goes barefoot – because nothing is going to keep her away from getting her education.
Here’s a quick run-down of the 7 books in The Princess School series:
1. If the Shoe Fits
Ella receives glass slippers from her fairy godmother, but they are way too big. She decides to go barefoot because the only other shoes she has are her grubby slippers. With her feet bare and her second-hand gown splattered with mud (thanks, evil stepsisters), Ella’s first day of Princess School is off to a bad start. Even worse – her Fairy Godmother is off at a convention and Ella’s going to have to get through the first weeks of Princess School without any magical help. But when she meets silly Snow, spunky Rapunzel, and beautiful, sheltered Rose, Ella begins to realize that with these friends, Princess School could be a LOT of fun
2. Let Down Your Hair
On the first day of school, Rapunzel expects the other girls to all be silly, frilly girls. But when she get to know them she realizes they are pretty great – that they can be girly, but that doesn’t ’t mean they are wimpy. Not by far. She also found that even though she and Prince Valerian had been friends forever, she got something different from her girlfriends. They understood how life was and made her feel a part of something.
3. Beauty Is A Beast
Beauty gets tired of everyone thinking she’s perfect and beautiful. She wants to be appreciated for who she is, not what she looks like or what she can do. She sets out to teach a lesson.
4. Who’s the Fairest?
The Maiden Games are coming up, but Snow White isafraid. Not only will all students at the Princess School be facing off against the nasty witches who attend the nearby Grimm School, but Snow’s awful stepmother, Malodora, is one of the Grimm School’s judges. Snow knows Maladora will make something awful happen, but she doesn’t want to let her whole school down, including her best friends – just when she needs Rapunzel, Ella and Rose more than ever…
5. Princess Charming
Rapunzel being a strong young woman who values her friendships, struggles with the possibility of losing her frirendshipwith Prince Val if she beats him – an age old struggle for all women. The Charm School for Boys is holding their annual jousting tournament and Rapunzel’s friend Prince Val is a favorite to win the title…thanks to Rapunzel’s coaching. Valis so good he can out-joust any prince–but can he out-joust a girl…the one who happens to be his coach? Rapunzel knows she has the skills to win, but can she keep her identity a secret throughout the tournament? Will her friendship with Val survive the competition? And how will she ever fit her jousting helmet over all of that hair?
6. Apple-y Ever After
This is a story about facing your biggest fears. For Snow White, it is entering the scary castle to find the magic mirror and undo the curse on her father who is trapped at sea. Her father comes home, but doesn’t remember her – and then the dwarves get all jealous and start sabotaging her relationship with her father. Not the normal princess story, is it?
7. Thorn in Her Side
In this story, Rose has to deal with what happens we are “guilty by association”, and how to be kind even when the other person isn’t. She deals with others being angry with her because things didn’t work out for them – just like coworkers can be jealous of your promotions, your relationships, etc.
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