Not Your Typical Princess Picturebooks

My little princess is much more likely to get dirty playing in the mud than her big brother, but still enjoys the occasion frilly dress and ruffles. She is far from the typical princess, and I relish that. Like her, I was more likely to be found playing ‘boy’ games then rocking the pick dresses I was often decked out in. I love the independent nature and rough and ready style of my little girl, and want to encourage her to continue being herself and help both of my kids ignore the standard gender roles and do what makes them happy rather than conforming to the roles of pretty princess and brave knight.

In my efforts to find books that break the stereotypes, I have found a large number of books that feature princesses breaking the standard image. Some of the princess are up to saving themselves, and sometimes saving the prince as well, others are just content in being who they really are and encourage readers of all ages to do the same.

Lovabye Dragon by Barbara Joosse; illustrated by Randy Cecil. When a lonely dragon follows a trail of princess tears, a beautiful friendship is born. They march and sing, roar and whisper, hide and seek, then settle into snug companionship at bedtime.

The Pirate Princess by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen; illustrated by Jill McElmurry. Tired of the royal life, Princess Bea boards a pirate ship and sets out for adventure on the high seas but soon finds she is not good at swabbing decks, cooking in the galley, or keeping watch from the crow’s nest.

Princess Peepers by Pam Calvert; illustrated by Tuesday Mourning. When the other princesses make fun of her for wearing glasses, Princess Peepers vows to go without, but after several mishaps–one of which is especially coincidental–she admits that she really does need them if she wants to see.

Part-Time Princess by Deborah Underwood; illustrated by Cambria Evans. A girl escapes her annoying little brother and the drudgery of school and home life when she travels to a magical kingdom each night and embarks on a series of adventures.

Princess Smartypants by Babette Cole. Not wishing to marry any of her royal suitors, Princess Smartypants devises difficult tasks at which they all fail, until the multitalented Prince Swashbuckle appears.

Thankfully books like these are becoming easier to find, books where a princess (or any girl) is measured by more than her looks and ability to be sweet and quiet. Here are some more great books about princesses that break the mold; The Barefoot Book of Princesses retold by Caitlín Matthews; illustrated by Olwyn Whelan, The Storytelling Princess by Rafe Marti; illustrated by Kimberly Bulcken Root, The Apple-Pip Princess by Jane Ray, Do Princesses Have Best Friends Forever? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle; illustrated by Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon, Not All Princesses Dress in Pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple; illustrated by Anne-Sophie Lanquetin, Princesses are Not Quitters! by Kate Lum; illustrated by Sue Hellard, Princess Pigsty by Cornelia Funk ; illustrated by Kerstin Meyer; translated by Chantal Wright, The Paper Princess by Elisa Kleven, The Paper Bag Princess written by Robert N. Munsch; illustrated by Michael Martchenko, and Princess Hyacinth: The Surprising Tale of a Girl who Floated by Florence Parry Heide; illustrated by Lane Smith.

 

Tell Someone to Take a Hike and Join Them!

With the arrival of nice weather many of us are looking to get back to walking or hiking and exploring the hidden treasures around us. Did you know that there are some great places to hike right here in Cheshire? Well, we have some small maps available for free at the library with maps of local trails and routes.

We also have some great books about hiking trails in Cheshire, Connecticut, and throughout New England. Here are some of those books that might offer you hiking routes and ideas that you might have forgotten about or simply never knew about.

1. Trails, Cheshire, Connecticut. by the Cheshire Environment Commission and Cheshire Land Trust

2. AMC’s Best Day Hikes in Connecticut: Four-Season Guide to 50 of the Best Day Hikes from the Highlands to the Coast by René Laubach and Charles W.G. Smith.

3. Short Nature Walks in Connecticut by Eugene Keyarts

4. Best Hikes with Kids: Connecticut, Massachusetts & Rhode Island by Cynthia Copeland [Lewis], Thomas J. Lewis, and Emily Kerr

5. Weekend Walks along the New England Coast: Exploring the Coast from Connecticut to Maine by John Gibson

6. Connecticut Walk Book West: the Guide to the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails of Western Connecticut by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association; edited by Ann T. Colson.

7. Connecticut Walk Book East: the Guide to the Blue-Blazed Hiking Trails of Eastern Connecticut by the Connecticut Forest and Park Association; edited by Ann T. Colson, Cindi D. Pietrzky

8. Hiking Connecticut and Rhode Island by Rhonda and George Ostertag.

9. 100 Classic Hikes in New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut by Jeffrey Romano.

10. Cruising Connecticut with a Picnic Basket by Jan Mann

Book Club Picks – Action/Adventure

book clubIs your book club looking for a little excitement?  Here are some action/adventure books they may be interested in.

Suspect by Robert Crais – LAPD cop Scott James is not doing so well. Nine months ago, a shocking assault by unidentified men killed his partner, Stephanie, nearly killed him, and left him enraged, ashamed, and ready to explode. He is unfit for duty—until he meets his new partner.

Into That Forest by Louis Nowra – Two girls survive a terrible flood in the Tasmanian bush and are rescued by a pair of Tasmanian tigers who raise them in the wild. Their story of survival is remarkable, as they adapt to the life of the tiger, learning to hunt and to communicate without the use of human language. When they are discovered and returned to civilization, neither can adapt to being fully human after their extraordinary experience. Totally believable, their story will both shock and captivate readers as it explores the animal instincts that lie beneath our civilized veneer.

timeTime and Again by Jack Finney – When advertising artist Si Morley is recruited to join a covert government operation exploring the possibility of time travel, he jumps at the chance to leave his twentieth-century existence and step into New York City in January 1882. Aside from his thirst for experience, he has good reason to return to the past—his friend Kate has a curious, half-burned letter dated from that year, and he wants to trace the mystery.

The Pale Horseman by Bernard Cornwell – The last unvanquished piece of England, Wessex is eyed hungrily by the fearsome Viking conquerors. A dispossessed young nobleman, Uhtred is tied to the imperiled land by birth and marriage but was raised by the Danish invaders—and he questions where his allegiance must lie. But blood is his destiny, and when the overwhelming Viking horde attacks out of a wintry darkness, Uhtred must put aside all hatred and distrust and stand beside his embattled country’s staunch defender—the fugitive King Alfred.

First to Kill by Andrew Peterson – Ten years ago, a botched mission in Nicaragua ended covert ops specialist Nathan McBride’s CIA career. Now he utilizes his unique skill set in the private sector—until the night Frank Ortega, former director of the FBI, calls in a favor. A deep-cover federal agent has vanished, along with a ton of Semtex explosives, and Ortega needs them found—fast. Because for him, this mission is personal: the missing agent is his grandson. And Nathan McBride is the only man he trusts to save him.

The Broken Places by Ace Atkins – A year after becoming Tibbehah County sheriff, Quinn Colson is faced with a pardoned killer’s return to Jericho. Jamey Dixon now preaches redemption and forgiveness, but the family of the woman he was convicted of killing isn’t buying it. They warn Quinn that his sister’s relationship with Dixon could be fatal. Others don’t think the new preacher is a changed man, either—a couple of dangerous convicts who confided in Dixon about an armored car robbery believe he’s after the money they hid. So they do the only thing they can: break out and head straight to Jericho, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake.

The Body Departed by J.R. Rain – When a killer broke into James Blakely’s apartment and fired twelve bullets into his body, it was the end of James’s life—but just the beginning of his journey to redemption. Sentenced to burn in hell for a crime he cannot remember, James is given the choice to proceed immediately to the afterlife or haunt the world of the living in search of his killer. Electing to return to Earth as a ghost, he attempts to solve the mystery of his own murder, visits the living—starting with his daughter and ex-wife—and confronts the sins in his past that put him on the fast track to eternal damnation.

It’s Star Wars Day – May the Fourth be With You!

May 4 is unofficially “Star Wars Day.” It’s the one day a year when Star Wars fans are encouraged to REALLY let their devotion to all things Star Wars out to play. Cheshire Library has got you covered, young Jedis – we have Star Wars items in just about every section of our collection. Here’s a very small taste of what you can find in our corner of the galaxy:

ADULT SCIENCE FICTION:

TEENS:

CHILDREN’S FICTION:

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EASY READERS:

NON-FICTION:

DVD:

 

Wacky Weather Picture Books to Share

Even without the snow filled and freezing cold winter we have just had weather is always an interesting topic to discuss with your children. From snow storms and the school free days they often bring to sunny days at the beach weather is always with us and affects our daily lives and activities. Here are some picturebooks about wacky weather than can make children of all ages laugh and start a discussion about nature and weather in your house.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett; drawn by Ron Barrett. Life is delicious in the town of Chewandswallow where it rains soup and juice, snows mashed potatoes, and blows storms of hamburgers–until the weather takes a turn for the worse.

Hello, Sun! by Dayle Ann Dodds; pictures by Sachiko Yoshikawa. A young girl and her cat must change clothes many times as the weather goes from sunny to cloudy to rainy to snowy.

Aunt Minnie and the Twister by Mary Skillings Prigger; illustrated by Betsy Lewin. After a tornado rearranges their Kansas house, Aunt Minnie and the nine nieces and nephews living with her add on a much-needed new room.

Un-brella by Scott E. Franson. In this wordless book, a little girl uses her magic umbrella to give her the weather she wants, regardless of what the conditions really are outside.

Bartholomew and the Oobleck written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss. The King, tired of rain, snow, sun and fog, commands his magicians to make something else come down from the sky, but when oobleck falls, in sticky greenish droplets, Bartholomew Cubbins shames the King and saves the kingdom.

As usual, there are too many great books to limit myself to the size allotted here, so I will offer a few more and invite you to offer more suggestions in the comments. My other suggestions include; Sector 7 by David Wiesner, Miss Mingo Weathers the Storm by Jamie Harper, Sun, Snow, Stars, Sky by Catherine and Laurence Anholt, Mouse & Mole and the All-Weather Train Ride by Doug Cushman, and The Magic School Bus Kicks up a Storm adaptation by Nancy White and illustrated by Art Ruiz.