I was very fortunate to receive a copy of a wonderful book for young girls titled "On Being a Real Princess, Secrets of the Happy Heart Princess" to review. The book is written by the very inspirational Sandi Stonebraker, who also happens to be an extremely talented blogger and artist.
A bit of background on Sandi. Sandi is a grandmother living in MainStrasse Village, Covington, Kentucky. When Sandi's granddaughter offered to move out of her bedroom and into another bedroom in order to accommodate her new baby brother, Sandi offered to decorate the new bedroom for her granddaughter. And just like so many little girls, what Sandi's granddaughter wanted was a princess theme for her bedroom. Sandi's beautiful mural of a princess in a garden enthralled everyone who saw it, and soon Sandi was creating beautiful murals for others.
And so Fairytales Kids, home of the Happy Heart Princess, was born. When you visit HappyHeartPrincess.com, you will see a collection of beautiful paintings done by the talented Sandi, and I can promise you that you will be entranced by them!
Sandi's describes The Happy Heart Princess as "the princess of the 21st century who bridges the gap between fairyland and the real life dream that lives in the hearts of little girls everywhere."
There are many reasons why I fell in love with this book instantly. First, the book is just so darn cute. As soon as you see the beautifully illustrated cover, you want to open it and look inside. This is a good thing when it comes to motivating young girls to read. The book is light, colorful and fun looking and like I said, soooo cute looking that even my 11 year old daughter couldn't resist picking the book up as soon as she saw it and read it!
When you open the book you are immediately drawn in by the beautiful illustrations that fill up page after page. I cannot imagine any little girl not being delighted just looking at the pictures. The colors are vibrant and the scenes are beautifully detailed.
But beyond the gorgeous illustrations, comes a very important message about young girls and self-esteem. Girls learn that it is the inner qualities that make someone special. There are 16 princesses to meet inside the book, and each shares a secret of being a Happy Heart first, and a Princess second. And the princesses are drawn as everyday girls living all around the world and doing everyday things. Personally, I believe that as adults, one of the most important responsibilities we have is to instill and build self-esteem in our children. That will be their foundation for building a happy healthy life, and we should embrace every opportunity available to do this.
With that said, I have to say my favorite part of this book are the Journaling Activities for children which are on every page where a new princess is introduced. Children are asked questions about their feelings and thoughts, as related to the princess they just read about. There are beautifully lined pages for journaling their answers and thoughts. There are also spaces provided for children to draw pictures as well. The discussions that adults and children can share from these journaling activities are wonderful -- so many issues relating to self-esteem can be discussed using these activities as stepping stones.
This is a beautiful book and perfect for a parent and daughter to curl up and read together. And I was delighted to read that Brave Heart Prince , a self esteem book for boys will be available soon!
You can win a free copy of ""On Being a Real Princess, Secrets of the Happy Heart Princess." Just visit happyheartprincess.com. Let me know your favorite gift item offered there in a comment.
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