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    Read More→