Princess Grace

Title: Princess Grace
Author: Mary Hoffman
Illustrators: Cornelius Van Wright, Ying Hwa-Hu
Type: Picture
Grade Level: 1-3
Rating: 3 out of 5

In the town parade this year there will be two princesses chosen to represent Grace's class.  Grace has always wanted to be a princess so she is very excited about this possibility.  But on planning her costume she is not exactly sure what princesses wear or what they do?  With the help of her teacher, Grace and her class learn there is more to a princess than just "pink, frilly dresses."

I really enjoyed this book.  It had me thinking about things I've never considered before.  Like Grace and her classmates, I've always associated princesses with the pretty dressed in pink ones of fairy tales but princesses are all over the world with different customs and duties.  As a reader you follow Grace along as she learns about princesses and also learns about herself because of who these women are.  You see her grow and become a more conscious person.

Although this book is mostly aimed at girls it does reach out to a boy (prince!) audience as well so it can be used for a whole class without leaving the boys in the cold.  The book highlights princesses in different cultures and how they all differ despite having the same title so you could use this book to cover different cultures.  Another option is to use this in a unit on stereotypes.  Most everyone in the U.S. has the same image of the "Christmas tree fairy in a pink and floaty dress" but this books shows that there are all sorts of princesses (and princes!).  You could use this book along with others to tackle stereotypes.

Real Princesses of the World