Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?

August 1, 2003
PreS-Gr 1-This book may just fit the bill for some young royal wanna-bes; however, if they prefer their princess to be fighting off witches or saved from fierce dragons, they may be disappointed by the lack of plot elements. In a rhyming text, a little girl asks her mother various questions about princesses. She wants to know if they play in the sand and dirt, wear jeans and a messy old shirt, do chores, follow rules, eat vegetables, snort as they laugh, etc. Each spread has a one-line question facing the mother's one-line response. Gordon's whimsical paintings in pleasant pastel shades are a good match for the funny text. At the end, the child asks, "-do princesses seem at all like me?" She is told to "Look inside yourself and see-." The final page features a mirror with the message, "A princess is a place in your heart." This is as sweet as a little candy heart, but not a must-purchase.-Susannah Price, Boise Public Library, ID

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