I don’t do a lot of book reviews here, but on occasion I make exceptions for friends and for awesome books that I really and truly love.
Rejected Princesses by Jason Porath is one of those books. Destined to be a classic, in my opinion.
This storybook looks and feels just like one of the Disney storybooks that are a staple of American childhood, but the characters inside are nothing like the princesses we are all so familiar with.
Here’s an aside: When my younger daughter was in Kindergarten, I got a call from her teacher. The teacher was concerned. They had been reading a lot of fairy tales in class and stories about princes and princesses. That day my daughter had drawn a picture of a dead princess, with cartoon-like pools of blood. She had captioned it “Princesses are sooooo stupid. They should just die.”
Now, while this was a bit goth, for a five year old, I wasn’t too concerned. In fact I was a little proud of my 5 yo for bucking the system. My older daughter, then 7 or 8, was a bit overly enthralled with all things pink and princess-y. She was the kind of kid that wanted to wear glitter nailpolish and plastic mules festooned with gemstones (along with her boa) to the supermarket. And to school. And to bed…. Her little sister was likely reacting to the discussions we’d been having about women’s roles in society, while trying to carve out her own identity. She rejected he color pink that her big sister so adored. She donned striped tights and rain boots with her tutu. She had no use for Disney princesses, save Mulan. Mulan was really the only princess role model either of my daughters had, who wasn’t rescued by a boy or epitomized in a ball gown.
I wish we’d had Rejected Princesses to hand to my girls, back then.
The premise of the book is simple. What if a former Dreamworks animator drew actual female heroines throughout the ages, as princesses, and told their stories.
This is not necessarily a book for young children (without a little adult intervention – stories are rated for adult theme, content and violence) but it is an utterly refreshing read for women of all ages. In these pages you will find dozens and dozens of courageous, outrageous and audacious women, whose names are not Belle or Ariel. You’ve probably never heard of half the heroines in this book but you damn well should have. And your daughters should too.
If you’re looking for an alternative role model or twenty for you daughters, you must get your hands on this book. The stories are written with humor and the illustrations are delightful – both beautiful and funny. This book has so much heart.
I think I’m going to send a copy to my daughter’s former kindergarten teachers.
Leave a Reply