Perhaps you have eschewed fairy tales for their often sexist and disempowering themes. Does this mean you must also abandon true love and princesses and enchantment?
   Not at all.
   Check out Once Upon a Time When The Princess Rescued the Prince (Dragon Tree Press 2002) by Rosemary Lake.
   Lake has taken a variety of traditional fairy tales, from "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" to Grimm's "Old Rinkrank." In each story, a young woman transforms challenging circumstances into a happily
ever after ending.
    A step-daughter beaten and abused turns the tables on her tormentor with the help of turnip-loving elves. A princess ordered to marry challenges her father and escapes by becoming a bear and finding love deep in the forest.
   Written for children who are in the 4th grade or older, the book includes footnotes and detailed references to the original fairytales, to satisfy academic minds. But it is the sheer joy of sailing on the wings of imagination with women and girls who embody strength and intelligence, whose bold adventures display quick wit and wry humor, that make this book a treat for readers of all ages.

Order a copy of
this book of read
more feminist
fairytales at
Rosemary Lake's
Web site!