Princess Smartypants succeeds through its chaotic visual humor and its rebellious subversion of traditional fairy tale tropes. Children enjoy watching a confident protagonist outsmart bumbling suitors and turn expectation on its head with a hilarious, unexpected ending. Books in this family share a cheeky sense of independence and use slapstick details to empower kids against stuffy authority figures.
Reach for this book when your child is pushing back against gender stereotypes or feeling pressured to fit into a traditional mold. It is the perfect antidote for a child who finds standard fairy tales stifling and wants to see a protagonist who values her hobbies, her pets, and her personal space over a romantic ending. Princess Smartypants is a royal who loves her monsters and her motorcycles, and she is determined to stay single despite her parents' insistence on marriage. The story follows the princess as she sets impossible tasks for a series of bumbling suitors. It celebrates independence and the idea that a happy ending doesn't have to include a wedding. For children aged 4 to 8, this book provides a humorous but firm foundation for self-confidence. It encourages kids to define success on their own terms and reinforces that it is okay to say no to social expectations that do not feel right.
