**Disclosure: I received this product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.**
So, this cute book headed my way a few days ago - "Can a Princess be a Firefighter?" by Carole P. Roman. I was very happy to receive it, as when I was offered the opportunity to review it, I jumped at it. When you have a four year old daughter who loves her books and this one is talking about being a princess and a firefighter, I knew I could not pass it up.
It arrived and of course her eyes lit up when I gave her the new book. And when we read it, she enjoyed it even more. Books are totally her thing. And a happy daughter is, of course, one of the best things in the world!
Looking through the book briefly, it seems to be a long story based on page, but I have to say that the book isn't really that long of a read. The story is created by short rhyming phrases among the illustrations. It is not one of those books that you will try to hide or make excuses for not reading some nights because they go on forever! So we got through the book and here are a few things that you should know...
While the title is about being a firefighter and a princess, the story does not go into that in detail. The entire purpose of the story is to teach little girls they can be whatever they want to be. The story goes through numerous professions that a girl can take into consideration as she determines what she wants to be when she grows up. We enjoyed reading it, although I will say that some of the words, or professions, used may be a bit much for small children. The professions the author picked are numerous and cover a wide range of interests - teacher, reporter, biologist, judge, just to name a few. Be prepared because you may have to explain some of them if your baby girl is too young to know the words already, and be ready to answer questions about them from those that are old enough to be curious. It definitely sparks their interest!
The only downside in my opinion was the illustrations. I was not a fan of the pictures throughout. I tried. I really tried. I looked at them over and over. I tried to appreciate the colorful aspect and the visual stimulation it could offer, but it didn't work. While I understand there are many variations of art, and that the style in this book is obviously preferred by the author and illustrator, it just was not appealing to me. Truthfully it appears to be blurry. When I saw the outside, right away I had to look at it a couple of times to determine what was wrong with the pictures. Made me wonder if this was a real rough draft of the book. I almost wondered if my eyes were failing me. To best describe it, think about when you take a picture or image and enlarge it on your computer to the point that is loses its crisp edges and becomes a big blur of pixels... that is what the illustrations remind me of. To be honest, my daughter did not complain so I know she was fine with the pictures while we read. And she always takes time to look back through the books after I read to her, and this book was no different. She still enjoy every piece of it. So, to end on a positive note with the illustrations, I appreciate that the pictures and colorful aspect do span entire pages, left to right, leaving nothing plain, nothing boring. And my daughter did not seem turned off by them, so it must have just been me.
Overall, I would have to say that the writing and story were well done, and it was an easy and fun read to my little girl. I imagine we will be reading this lots so that she can tell me all about what she wants to be when she grows up. I recommend "Can a Princess be a Firefighter?" simply because I can look past the image quality and still hear the true message of empowering girls and letting them know they can be anything they put their heart and mind to, and that is the most important thing I can do for my daughter.
I hope you find this book a good read and enjoy your time with your daughter, granddaughter, or niece. Happy Reading!
**Disclosure: I received this product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.**
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