Not Just a Princess-Book Reviews

One of the ideas that hubby and I have had from the very beginning is that we would not raise our daughter to be a "princess". When I thought about princesses they all seemed to be loved for their looks, they never had jobs or careers, and they sat around waiting for a man to rescue them....these were not ideals I wanted to teach my daughter.

I also felt that modern day princesses can often be high maintenance, shallow and again waiting for a man...ugh!

So we have had a strict no princess policy. No toys, movies or clothes. All of my mommy friends have said the same thing, "good luck with that!"

So when author Mary Lee contacted me with a copy of her book to review I jumped at the chance. The book is called, Not Just a Princess and is available on Amazon for $10.

The books is about Mia who is often called a princess but decides that is not all she is. She is creative and a dreamer who wants to be a doctor, pirate and explorer! I love that the things she dreams of are not gender limiting. The message goes perfectly with my ideas of how to raise strong, successful young women. The colors and language would appeal to young girls, while the message will appeal to parents.

Another book we received was a super cool idea...a personalized story for Ocoee, from First Time Books. The story we have is called Zoo Adventure. The book comes in 3 options, hardcover for $20, softcover for $14 or a PDF version for FREE!

The books are truly personalized, with names of kids, their friends names, hair color and ethnic group. The ethnic group was one of the few things that gave me pause...Ocoee's friend is Asian so we picked that group and I wasn't sure if the depiction was culturally sensitive. Since the book is in cartoon format it can be easy to do a cartoonish version of different cultures. I asked the parent of Ocoee's friend and she felt it was ok.....I guess I am over sensitive.

These books also come in a birthday version which could be a really cool gift. The story and colors are fabulous. I have read it to Ocoee and she really liked the pages being so colorful.

In our house we have more books than anything else so I am always so thrilled to find new ones to add to our stash.

“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.”
― Dr. Seuss