A little pig is struggling deciding what she wants to be when she is older. Her father tells her that she will always be, "his little princess". She gets upset because she says everyone always wants to be a princess and she wants to be different. When her mom goes to read her a bedtime story she gets even more upset when it has a princess in it. She lays in bed thinking of different ideas on what she could be. She realizes she doesn't have to be a princess but a queen.I really loved reading this story. It was very cute and has a great message for children. It is okay to be different and think outside of the box. Olivia did not like the idea of being similar to everyone and she wanted to be herself but struggled because she liked the idea of being a princess. She comes up with a solution for herself and to be different then everyone else. I feel a little mixed up about this book. On one hand, I love Falconer's attempt to diversify the image of the fairy princess. I think there is a good message in this book about being yourself and embracing different-ness. I think for little girls who have pink shoved down their throat and aren't exposed to other interests, this is a good thing.On the other hand, I found the tone of the book to be slightly mean-spirited toward the girls who do genuinely have a love for pink, princesses and ballerinas. At one point I probably would have agreed with the theme but now that I'm living with a very pink/princess obsessed preschooler, I think a more important message would be to say that you can love the color pink and wear dresses everyday AND have other ambitions, be good at math, enjoy cars, watch robot movies, dream of one day being a scientist, etc. .... It's not an either/or game. On a final note, this book was definitely more advanced - in theme and vocabulary - from the original "Olivia". I mean, the term "corporate malfeasance" is a bit of a stretch for your average three-year-old.
What do You think about Olivia Y Las Princesas (2012)?
Loved it. I can just see my daughter Natalie asking me to read this to her every night.
—wes
