book club

An interview with children's authors Shannon and Dean Hale

Shannon and Dean: I think the idea of “princesses” that some parents react against is the submissive girl who does nothing but wait to be saved by a man. But in truth, there are almost no stories like that in the past fifty years. A princess is a girl with power—political power, social power. And a princess is a girl with fun accessories—like unicorn pets and sparkly gowns and fairy godmothers! I fear that some reactions against princesses are reactions against femininity—that the “best” girls are the ones who exhibit traditionally masculine traits and have traditionally masculine interests. I push back against that. Please don’t shame kids for having feminine interests or fascinations with princesses. Again, let them be both!

In a world of empowering books about girls doing interesting and amazing things, there are still very few that portray women or female characters working with (or even just being interested in) heavy equipment and machinery. This year, Katy turns 75 - and the empowering message Virginia Lee Burton wrote right at the height of World War II as Rosie the Riveter was working hard on the homefront is still a welcome one with great lessons for kids today - work hard, stay strong, have courage when things look impossible.

An interview with the author!

David: A fellow illustrator asked me to write a book about dinosaurs for his wonderful young daughter. He said he couldn't draw dinosaurs.

I thought that was a fun idea. At the time, my son was about 2, and was very shy. At the park, I noticed that his friends would come running up to him, shouting his name, and practically jump on him, to say hello. So that's where the personality of Dinah came from.

There’s a saying by A Wrinkle In Time author Madeleine L’Engle, regarding whether children’s books are a lesser medium of art: “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”

For children have the power to make the world a better place, and they are going to use it.

With the Princess Awesome Book Club, we’ve curated books for kids from baby board books all the way up to chapter books that show a diverse group of women, girls, and even female-type creatures that are learning, exploring, and adventuring to their fullest potential. In the coming weeks, we will be presenting these picks with giveaways, interviews with the authors, and reviews from actual kids who love these stories as much as we do.