1. Complicate Their Thinking:
Just seeing the cover of this book confused my daughter.
Is this Cinderella?
Where are the talking mice?
Why is her hair not yellow?
The godmother goes to the ball?
The prince has a name? And his name is Paul??
She kept opening and closing the book, checking the cover as if for clues.
Good.
At the end of the third read, we talked about the fact that there are many different ways to tell the story of Cinderella, and that the story can change depending on where it's coming from.
2. Strong Princess, No Prince Necessary:
Best part about this book?
There's no accompanying underwear.
Also, the princess rides a warthog.
And has a pet porcupine.
Life doesn't get much better than that.
3. Finally, Real Women:
These two books about artist Georgia O'Keefe have been heavy in our rotation:
Georgia embraces getting old.
Remember that notion?
Me neither.
Buy beautiful books.
Preferably, ones that don't come with bras and panties.
Here's another one: The Paper Bag Princess. The ending is fantastic. :)
ReplyDeletea woman who embraces getting old, hmm? i think I need to read the georgia o'keeffe books!
ReplyDeleteI was just about to add "Paper Bag Princess" to your list...looks like someone has already added it! Great minds! Whenever I read this story aloud to my third graders, the girls (and the boys) go crazy when she tells the guy he is a bum!
ReplyDeleteI've been reading through your blog and this post really spoke to me- I grew up absolutely loving the Enchanted Forest Chronicles, which my sister used to read to me. Anything by Patricia C. Wrede is great, really, although maybe more in the YA age range. The Serpent Slayer and other stories of Strong Women is also fabulous, as is the Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye, and Robin McKinley's retelling of Beauty and the Beast is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteThere's a whole genre of books that does nothing BUT present Cinderella as told in other cultures. You could fill your library with nothing but them.
ReplyDeleteMy nieces like The Apple-Pip Princess (a bit traditional in some respects, but beautifully written and illustrated) right now.
Cadhla--all new titles for me. I'm adding them for review, thanks for mentioning.
ReplyDeleteConuly--We haven't read Apple-Pip Princess, but I'm adding it to the list for next library trip. If you have any particularly good Cinderella re-tales titles, send them on.
Thanks!
I am so glad I ran across your blog! These books look great, and I'm adding them to our library list now. I love everything Georgia O'Keefe and had no idea these books even existed. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWe love "Ella's Big Chance" by Shirley Hughes. The illustrations are beautiful, and it is such a sweet story. We also love "Falling For Rapunzel" and "Waking Beauty" by Leah Wilcox - both fun twists on the original stories. And one more -- "The Barefoot Book of Princesses" from Barefoot Books. It includes about seven or eight "princess" tales from around the world.