"Crowned" Children's Book Review

            Hey folks! I have a brand new children's book from Julia Dweck to share with you today titled Crowned. It is about a little fairy named Quinn who wishes to become the queen of the fairies. After reading through many fairy tales before bed one night, she sets off the next day to try the things she read in the stories to become queen, including kissing a bunch of frogs, listening to mirrors for advice, and eating "enchanted fruit" to put her to sleep so a prince will come and kiss her. Her tale takes a different turn from most fairy tale stories and she discovers that she can become a queen all on her, without the need for a prince or king.
            If you've been following my blog for awhile, I'm sure you can tell by now that I'm not exactly the girly-girl type. I'm not a fan of the "princess culture" either and don't let my daughter watch many tv shows or movies with the stereotypical "princess getting saved by a prince" storyline. I'm sure it sounds over the top to some, but I feel it promotes sexism and entitlement, which is a growing issue with our children's generation. However, with that being said, I really enjoyed this book.
            Crowned starts off sounding like it's going to be your typical, run-of-the-mill fairy tale, but I assure you it is not. When Quinn is faced with a mean, two-headed ogre that starts picking on her, she decides to face it and solve the problem rather than running away and hiding like most fairies would. The other fairies are impressed by her bravery "defeating" the two-headed ogre and decide to make her queen. It's then that Quinn realizes she doesn't need a prince or king to become queen. You just have to believe in yourself!
            Other than greatly enjoying the refreshing take on a fairy tale, Dweck did a great job with the style or writing too, from the simple text to the flowing rhymes. The illustrations are absolutely fantastic as well. Very colorful and cheery, sure to keep your child's attention and fuel their imagination. I also liked that there are words of wisdom from both the author and illustrator at the end as well as a few follow-up activities. All-in-all, this is a fairy tale I will be happy to read with my daughter in the future!
            You can purchase your own copy of Crowned on Amazon in print right now and Kindle edition beginning October 24th! The holiday season will be here before you know it and this would make a great gift for a child in your life!

Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book in order to facilitate my review. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own and may differ from your own.