[Monday Reading] Fantastical Tales Featuring Mighty Princesses

Fats here.

It’s Monday, What are You Reading? is a meme hosted by Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers (new host of Monday reading: Kathryn T at Book Date). Since two of our friends, Linda from Teacher Dance and Tara from A Teaching Life have been joining this meme for quite awhile now, we thought of joining this warm and inviting community.

Who doesn’t like a good fairy tale? Over the weekend, I read four picture books about spunky princesses. All titles are new to me and, as always, I’m very happy to share them all with you!

Princess Tales

Adapted by Grace Maccarone
Illustrated by Gail De Marcken
Published by Feiwel and Friends (2013)
ISBN-13: 9780312679583

Buy Princess Tales on Amazon | Book Depository

In Princess Tales, Grace Maccarone re-imagines popular fairy tales such as Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Rumpelstiltskin with rhyming verses. Gail De Marcken’s ink and watercolor illustrations fill the page, with hidden images that young readers could try to find. The text uses a smaller font but kids would surely get a kick out of the seek-and-find pictures.

Snow White: Stories Around the World

Written and illustrated by Jessica Gunderson
Published by Picture Window Books (2015)
ISBN-13: 9781479554508

Buy Snow White: Stories Around the World on Amazon | Book Depository

If you like reading books that are part of a series, then this one is for you. Snow White: Stories Around the World is part of the Multicultural Fairy Tales by Picture Window Books. There are currently four books in the series, and Snow White is the most recent one. The other three include Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel. Each book features a retelling of the titular fairy tale from around the world. In Snow White, you’ll find versions told in Albania, Germany, Mozambique, and Turkey. What makes this even more interesting is the reading guide at the end of the book, which includes critical thinking and writing prompts! Needless to say, this is a fun series to read!

Princesses on the Run

Written and illustrated by Smiljana Coh
Published by Running Press (2013)
ISBN-13: 9780762446124

Buy Princesses on the Run on Amazon | Book Depository

In Princesses on the Run, we meet Princess Antonia who, despite having the most stylish dresses and coolest toys, is lonely and bored. So what does a lonely and bored princess do? The only thing that makes sense to her: run away. Literally. As she makes her way deeper into the forest, she meets Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, and Sleeping Beauty. Who would have thought that running and skipping through the forest with the best people could change your life forever? This is a book about stepping out of your comfort zone – literally and figuratively.

#WomenReadWomen2019 (Croatia)

The Restless Girls

Written by Jessie Burton
Illustrated by Angela Barrett
Published by Bloomsbury (2018)
ISBN-13: 9781408886915

Buy The Restless Girls on Amazon | Book Depository

Jessie Burton shatters patriarchy in this feminist retelling of a Brothers Grimm classic, Twelve Dancing Princesses. Although the original fairy tale was drawn out in this retelling, I assure you that you would never look at the story in the same light again. In The Restless Girls, twelve princesses are locked up in a room with no windows. The King thought that it would be best for them. No more fixing cars or painting or reading the stars. He believes that those things are not suitable for a princess. He calls them insolent and sees them like sticks of dynamite waiting to explode. You get the picture. The rest of the plot is similar to the original, as far as dancing princesses and a King giving up his crown and handing off one of his daughters to any man who could uncover their secret. There is a coronation in the end, alright, but there is no Prince Charming. I leave that for you to find out.