Self Rescuing Princess

Like most 4 year old girls Paige likes playing Princess.  She likes the Disney Princesses, has lots of princess dress up clothes, and says she wants to be a princess when she grows up.  That's great.  I know she'll go through many likes and dislikes as she grows up.  Ronnie and I may not like the whole princess thing, but we are most definitely letting her be her own person and express herself.  All of that is great.  We want her to have fun and at this stage, that includes princesses.

Of course, Mommy is a rather independent person.  That's how I was raised.  I want Paige to be independent as well.  Most of the princess stories don't really have self sufficient heroines; they're waiting around for a prince to come save them.  We have plenty of those stories around here.  I was wanting more books that showed the princess as the heroine, not the damsal in distress.  As I was browsing one of my favorite websites, Think Geek, I found this shirt.  Ah yes, they have it in both Mommy & Paige sizes.  I love the write up on this shirt.  Think Geek does a great job on all of their descriptions.

As I read, I knew all of the women or movies they mentioned: Star Wars, Buffy, Wonder Woman.  But who was this Elizabeth?  I hadn't read the book they mentioned The Paper Bag Princess.  I did a quick search and found the basis for this story.  I knew we had to have it.  This princess takes charge, kicks a dragons butt, and tells the prince off in the end.  Paige may not understand the whole meaning behind the story yet, but she does understand most of it.  The first time we read it she was sad they didn't get married in the end.  Then I pointed out that the prince wasn't very nice to her, and she agreed Elizabeth needs to marry someone nice.  We've now read the book 4 times in the very first day.  She keeps asking me to read it to her again and again.