The royal wedding is right around the corner, and if you're anything like me, you can't get enough of the details!
Here are 11 books that can help bring a dose of princesses to your reading time:
Picture Books
Princess Truly in I am Truly by Kelly Greenawalt, illustrated by Amariah Rauscher
Princess Truly is strong and confident, beautiful and brave, bright and brilliant. She can do anything she sets her mind to...
I can fly to the moon
And dance on the stars.
I can tame wild lions...
And race fast cars.
Brimming with warmth and color, Princess Truly's rhythmic rhyming adventures are a celebration of individuality, girl power, and diversity. Her heartfelt story is a reminder to young girls everywhere that they can achieve anything if they put their minds to it...and dream big!
Princess! Fairy! Ballerina! by Bethanie Murguia
What do you want to play today? A princess, a fairy, and a ballerina face off in this sweet, funny story of three best friends on one uproarious playdate.
When three friends gather for a playdate, they have to decide: Will they play princess, fairy, or ballerina? It's the perfect setup for a royal, magical, graceful, and very cute standoff, with a delightful (and slightly damp) ending. (We'll say only this: Keep your eye on the frog.)Princess Peppa and the Royal Ball by Courtney Carbone
Princess Peppa has so much to do to get ready for the royal ball! She must invite her friends, decorate the castle, and help the royal baker make some tasty treats. Will Princess Peppa have enough time to make this ball a night to remember?
The Princess and the Pony by Kate Beaton
Princess Pinecone knows exactly what she wants for her birthday this year. A BIG horse. A STRONG horse. A horse fit for a WARRIOR PRINCESS! But when the day arrives, she doesn't quite get the horse of her dreams...
From the artist behind the comic phenomenon Hark! A Vagrant, The Princess and the Pony is a laugh-out-loud story of brave warriors, big surprises, and falling in love with one unforgettable little pony.
Middle Grade
Bad Princess: True tales Behind the Tiara by Kris Waldher
Welcome to Bad Princess by Kris Waldherr (author of Doomed Queens), where you'll discover what really happens after "Happily Ever After." From the war-torn Dark Ages of Medieval Europe to America's Gilded Age, and all the way up to Kate Middleton, Bad Princess explores more than 30 true princess stories, going beyond the glitz and glamour to find out what life was really like for young royals throughout history.
A mix of royal biography, pop culture, art, style, and pure fun, Bad Princess is a whip-smart, tongue-in-cheek spin on the traditional princess narrative, proving that it takes more than a pretty crown to be a great leader.
Princess Imposter by Vivian Vande Velde
Princess Gabriella is accustomed to a certain kind of castle life. So when she wakes up one morning in a crowded hut, surrounded by squabbling fairy siblings, it takes all her princess training to maintain her poise and good manners.
Meanwhile, across the kingdom, Fairy Phleg revels in Gabriella's luxurious lifestyle. As long as she can fool the castle into believing she's the real princess-with a little help from her magical disguise-then she's set to enjoy three glorious days of sweets and comfort.
The mischievous fairies have placed a bet, and Gabriella is caught in the middle of it. Can she survive her time in the chaotic fairy household without failing the ultimate princess test and losing her temper? Phleg turns the castle upside down as she poses as Gabriella, but when an important guest arrives, will her antics unwittingly send the kingdom into war?
The Princess and the Page by Christina Farley
A mystical adventure about a pulls-no-punches princess and the power of her magical pen.
A dark secret lurks in Keira's family. She comes from a long line of Word Weavers, who bring their stories to life when they use a magical pen. But for generations Word Weavers have been hunted for their power. That's why Keira is forbidden to write. When Keira discovers her grandma's Word Weaver pen, and writes a story for the Girls' World fairy-tale contest, she starts to wonder if anyone ever truly lives happily ever after. Inspired by the life and times of Gabrielle d'Estrées, a real French princess who lived during the 1500s, The Princess and the Page follows the mystical journey of a modern-day "royal" who goes from having a pen in her hand to wishing for the world at her fingertips
Whatever After: Two Peas in a Pod by Sarah Mlynowski
I've landed — along with my brother, Jonah, and our dog, Prince — in the fairy tale of The Princess and the Pea! When I can't fall asleep on top of a hundred mattresses, the kingdom decides I must be the princess they're looking for. Talk about royal treatment — I'm suddenly being waited on hand and foot. Plus, I get unlimited ball gowns, sparkly jewelry, and ice cream.
But can we find a REAL princess to run the kingdom?Now we have to:
- Hold a princess contest
- Defeat an obnoxious prince
- Escape hungry alligators
- Make it back home
Young Adult Books
I Am Princess X by Cherie Priest, illustrated by Kali Ciesemier
Once upon a time, two best friends created a princess together. Libby drew the pictures, May wrote the tales, and their heroine, Princess X, slayed all the dragons and scaled all the mountains their imaginations could conjure.
Once upon a few years later, Libby was in the car with her mom, driving across the Ballard Bridge on a rainy night. When the car went over the side, Libby passed away, and Princess X died with her.
Once upon a now: May is sixteen and lonely, wandering the streets of Seattle, when she sees a sticker slapped in a corner window. Princess X? When May looks around, she sees the Princess everywhere: Stickers. Patches. Graffiti. There's an entire underground culture, focused around a webcomic at IAmPrincessX.com. The more May explores the webcomic, the more she sees disturbing similarities between Libby's story and Princess X online. And that means that only one person could have started this phenomenon — her best friend, Libby, who lives.
When Becky Randle's mother dies, Becky is whisked from her trailer park home to New York. There she meets Tom Kelly, the world's top designer, who presents Becky with an impossible offer: He'll design three dresses to transform the very average Becky into the most beautiful woman who ever lived.
Soon Becky is remade as Rebecca - pure five-alarm hotness to the outside world and an awkward mess of cankles and split ends when she's alone. With Rebecca's remarkable beauty as her passport, soon Becky's life resembles a fairy tale. She stars in a movie, VOGUE calls, and she starts to date Prince Gregory, heir to the English throne. That's when everything crumbles. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But the idea of a prince looking past Rebecca's blinding beauty to see the real girl inside? There's not enough magic in the world.
Defiant, naughty, and impossibly fun, GORGEOUS answers a question that bewilders us all: Just who the hell IS that in the mirror?
One Silver Summer by Rachel Hickman
After losing her mom in an accident, Sass is sent to live with her uncle in England. Far from her native Brooklyn, the rocky shores and crumbling castles of Cornwall seem like the perfect place to hide her grief. And when she stumbles across a silver horse in a sunlit meadow, Sass feels a surprising sense of peace . . . only to have it broken by a boy. Arrogant and distrustful, the horse's trainer, Alex, doesn't approve of the trespassing American. Yet after a few chance meetings, he begins to feel a connection to the curious girl with the sad eyes, and offers to teach her to ride. Sass never expected to feel anything again--least of all love--but the lessons reveal a far different Alex, and soon their friendship turns into something more. But Alex has a secret--a bombshell about his family that could shatter Sass's trust . . . and force him to abandon the one girl who made him believe in himself.
