Did anyone else own a copy of The Practical Princess and Other Liberating Fairy Tales?
Reading Sarah’s excellent entry about so nice heroines and one of the comments about how many romance novels perpetrate the helpless woman mythos found in most fairy tales got me thinking about this book. And really, it’s way too good not to share, though sadly it’s out of print.
The first story, “The Practical Princess,” is probably my favorite. Princess Bedelia was blessed with the usual fairy godmother gifts at her birth—beauty, wit, etc. etc. But one fairy godmother decided to gift her with common sense. Everyone needs common sense, after all, even princesses. The king was puzzled by the gift, though. Why would a princess need common sense?
But whaddaya know, the fairy godmother was right. The awful, ugly, greedy Lord Garp tries to trap Bedelia into marriage, and she foils him at every turn, and in the end she rescues a very cute prince—all with her common sense.
The book is filled with stories like these. Some of the heroines are beautiful, a few are not (there was one who was excessively freckled, if I remember correctly), but all of them kick ass and save the day (and usually the prince).
I miss this book. It’s packed away in a box somewhere in Malaysia. I’m going to see if I can find a copy here in America.
Ok- all you ladies out there who want ideas for kick butt heroines (or gift ideas for young ladies on your Santa list)- look for the Girls to the Rescue by Bruce Lansky . He also wrote the Newfangled Fairy Tales series- all funny.
How cool! I’d love to read this. I may have to order through site that specializes in locating Out of Print Books. This seems too good to miss.
Another excellent children’s author who writes fairy tales with kick-ass heroines is E. Nesbit. A particular favorite of mine when I was a kid was The Book of Dragons. I’d recommend every and any E. Nesbit book, actually. If you read C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, he mentions the Bastables, who are the characters from the Treasure-Seekers series by Nesbit.
Aw, hell, why are all my badass kid’s books packed away in Malaysia? All my Roald Dahl books are there too. Whiiiiine.
Have you tried Politically Correct Fairy Tales? They’re a scream.
Cimorene from the “Enchanted Forest” series by Patricia Wrede is another kickass princess.
Tamora Pierce (a big name in YA fantasy these days) writes strong heroines who often battle against cultural restrictions. I’m a bit too old to fully appreciate her books now—wish they’d been around when I was twelve, I’d have eaten them up with a spoon.
Damn…. someone already recommended the Wrede stuff [Dealing with Dragons is the first one, HIGHLY recommended YA novel especially for girls looking for heroines].
And Pierce, also mentioned, has a whole “girl in boys clothing” series for knighthood. Too sugar sweet for me, but I would have enjoyed them at 12-15.
Lessa, from Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern is also a good heroine who kicks booty. McCaffrey actually writes some spicy love scenes in her Dragonriders books (if only my mother had known…), and she’s written some romances also (The Lady & a triad of novelettes).
Another recommendation:
The Serpent Slayer : and Other Stories of Strong Women
by Katrin Tchana, Trina Schart Hyman
My five year-old son and I read this this year. Trina Schart Hyman was an amazing illustrator. She died this past winter, and oddly enough, babysat me after school when I was little.
Yay! Thanks for the rec.
My library has one and it’s now headed my way.
I have never heard anyone mention this book before and it was MY FAVORITE STORY when I was I child. I couldn’t find my old copy of it, so I recently bought it used to read to my four year old daughter.
Loved your post today, Candy!!!
Have you tried Politically Correct Fairy Tales? They’re a scream.
God, I remember reading these years ago. I can’t remember anything specific about them now except the cover. Well, that, and being amused.
I’ll have to give those a try—not only am I in need of a good laugh, but I also want to sneak in some more “liberating” books for my daughter. If she wants to be a princess, I want her to know that a princess can kick the dragon’s ass herself. Heh.
I think all these books would be great reading material for boys too. Let THEM learn that females can kick every bit as much ass as males can. It is such a shame that boys can find so many more positive action role models in literature than girls.
Oh, I have this book! Isn’t the art fantastic? I thought Lord Garp’s hairy chin was the most horrible thing ever. SOmething about him makes me shudder.