With a school aged daughter, and Christmas right around the corner I have been on the look out for some new books for her. The biggest problem with a majority of the books I have found is that they all revolve around princesses. Do not get me wrong, I love a good princess story. I have nothing against them whatsoever. My daughter is also a huge fan of them, but I have been on the hunt for non princess books.

I know that princess tales have come a long way. Most modern princess stories do not involve waiting around for a prince to save the princess. Something that has always annoyed me. Princesses are getting stronger and wittier. However, as my daughter is not in fact a princess, I was hoping to find something a tad more relatable. I am hoping to reinforce the lesson that average kids are cool too. I worry about the emphasis on beauty, fancy clothes, and unrealistic hair that princesses can sometimes have.

I have come up with a list of books that have nothing to do with being a princess, and all about being a strong heroine.

Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans – Now it is important to note that this book is my number one choice. In fact, my daughter is named after Madeline herself. Spunky, smart, and sweet.

The Ramona books by Beverly Cleary – More books that I read and loved as a kid.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis – Do I even need to say anything about these. Epic stories, with fantastic female characters.

Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene – Again, this one is pretty self explanatory. Don’t worry if you think the stories are outdated. There have been lots of great additions to the original series.

These are what we are wrapping up this Christmas for our daughter. I hope to expand this list of non princess books.

-Stephanie Wright