Pragmatic Princess

26 Superb Stories of Self-Sufficiency

An A-Z compilation of short stories about self-reliance designed for children aged 3-12+.

Within each story in Pragmatic Princess, the main character in is confronted with a typical childhood challenge (e.g., a fear of trying something new or schoolyard bullying) and models a wide range of skills and ideas to navigate these challenges, such as problem solving, flexible thinking, and resourcefulness. The use of real-world situations and a diverse cast helps foster observational learning and the successful acquisition of the skills modeled in each of the stories which span intellectual, social, emotional, and moral development.

More Information

Pragmatic Princess was developed to grow with the reader. The length of the story is short enough to keep the younger readers engaged, whilst the content becomes more relevant to the older children. Also, the use of a rhyming scheme helps support pre-reading literacy skills.

The characters of Pragmatic Princess were developed to represent a range of shapes, sizes, abilities and disabilities, and traditional and non-traditional families. It was important to incorporate diverse backgrounds into the characters’ lives for them to reflect the diverse world we live in. It was equally important that these details were not the central theme of the stories themselves as our shape, level of ability, and what our family unit looks like are just some of the many parts of who we are and not necessarily the defining feature of our stories.

For more on the science behind the development of these stories, see buildyourowncastle.com.

“When the book arrived, it was soooo much bigger than I thought it was going to be. I love thick books and this was definitely that. The content and illustrations are amazing. There’s texture to the cover which is great for little fingers. The kids and I love the stories and will cherish it for years to come. Definitely worth every penny! I highly recommend this book for everyone. Great life lessons and spotlight on self sufficiency.”

Krista L. Koons, Amazon reviewer