90 books like The Big Princess

By Taro Miura,

Here are 90 books that The Big Princess fans have personally recommended if you like The Big Princess. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Pig-Boy: A Trickster Tale from Hawai'i

Maria Gulemetova Author Of Beyond the Fence

From my list on beyond good and bad, right and wrong.

Why am I passionate about this?

Unburdened with prejudice or beliefs, children are open to the world. I find great joy in books that reflect the child’s fresh perception and playful spirit. Such books have no intention to teach a moral lesson. They rejoice in freedom. In the non-stereotypical, not yet molded to conform reality of the child. Books beyond good or bad may shine with the light of freshness, the unfiltered seeing. In times of great political divisions, non-didactic books can be a window to the glorious amoral way of perceiving.

Maria's book list on beyond good and bad, right and wrong

Maria Gulemetova Why did Maria love this book?

This is one of my favorite picture books. To me, the main character is life itself. A mischievous, greedy, daring, vulnerable, colorful aliveness. The strong colors and the bold shapes of the illustrations demonstrate the raw intensity of life. And the theme of Grandmother loving Pig-Boy unconditionally is one mothers would resonate with. Such a treat!

By Gerald McDermott,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pig-Boy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?



Book Details: Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 4/6/2009 Pages: 32 Reading Level: Age 4 and Up


Book cover of Alphonse, That Is Not Ok to Do!

Maria Gulemetova Author Of Beyond the Fence

From my list on beyond good and bad, right and wrong.

Why am I passionate about this?

Unburdened with prejudice or beliefs, children are open to the world. I find great joy in books that reflect the child’s fresh perception and playful spirit. Such books have no intention to teach a moral lesson. They rejoice in freedom. In the non-stereotypical, not yet molded to conform reality of the child. Books beyond good or bad may shine with the light of freshness, the unfiltered seeing. In times of great political divisions, non-didactic books can be a window to the glorious amoral way of perceiving.

Maria's book list on beyond good and bad, right and wrong

Maria Gulemetova Why did Maria love this book?

I would highly recommend any of Daisy Hirst’s books. To me Daisy Hirst’s books have both the ease and the force of natural phenomenon. They are like a gust of wind, rain, or sunshine. Immaculate expressions of the child’s experience. A seamless flow through the ordinary beauty of the surroundings, the thoughts and the emotions of the child. They represent the joy of creativity and play alongside the feelings of confusion, loneliness or guilt. Simply put, they are brilliant!

By Daisy Hirst,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Alphonse, That Is Not Ok to Do! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 2, 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

Brother and sister monsters fall out and make up in spectacular style in this warm, witty story.

From the creator of The Girl with the Parrot on Her Head comes a truly authentic and original story about sibling rivalry. Natalie the monster mostly loves her little brother Alphonse being there - they name the pigeons, bounce things off the bunk beds, have stories in the chair and make lots of fun stuff together. But, when Natalie catches Alphonse eating her most favourite book, well ... that is not OK! Daisy's expressive, bold screen-print illustration and unique picture book voice will…


Book cover of Guri and Gura's Magical Friend

Maria Gulemetova Author Of Beyond the Fence

From my list on beyond good and bad, right and wrong.

Why am I passionate about this?

Unburdened with prejudice or beliefs, children are open to the world. I find great joy in books that reflect the child’s fresh perception and playful spirit. Such books have no intention to teach a moral lesson. They rejoice in freedom. In the non-stereotypical, not yet molded to conform reality of the child. Books beyond good or bad may shine with the light of freshness, the unfiltered seeing. In times of great political divisions, non-didactic books can be a window to the glorious amoral way of perceiving.

Maria's book list on beyond good and bad, right and wrong

Maria Gulemetova Why did Maria love this book?

Guri and Gura’s books shine with the energy of childlike wonder and vitality. Children would delight in Guri and Gura’s adventures. For the parents these books present an opportunity to tap into a possibly dormant, yet present sense of wonderment, magic, and the joy of eating, running, nature, friendship and discovery.

By Rieko Nakagawa, Peter Howlett, Yuriko Yamawaki (illustrator) , Richard McNamara

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Guri and Gura's Magical Friend as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When the mice Guri and Gura go on a breakfast picnic they meet Bunny Buna, who can make his arms any length and who builds a boat out of clouds to take them for a ride.


Book cover of Paul and Antoinette

Maria Gulemetova Author Of Beyond the Fence

From my list on beyond good and bad, right and wrong.

Why am I passionate about this?

Unburdened with prejudice or beliefs, children are open to the world. I find great joy in books that reflect the child’s fresh perception and playful spirit. Such books have no intention to teach a moral lesson. They rejoice in freedom. In the non-stereotypical, not yet molded to conform reality of the child. Books beyond good or bad may shine with the light of freshness, the unfiltered seeing. In times of great political divisions, non-didactic books can be a window to the glorious amoral way of perceiving.

Maria's book list on beyond good and bad, right and wrong

Maria Gulemetova Why did Maria love this book?

Two siblings with very different personalities. The fun of following these two characters grows with every scene. A very skillful, beautiful depiction of the richness of life and creative collaboration. A funny and endearing book.

By Kerascoët (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Paul and Antoinette as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

We have seen a few great odd couples in picture books already, but filled with possibility as the world is, there's always room for one more pair, especially if they are as charming and unforgettable as these pigs, born from the brushes and prolific imagination of Kerascoet. Kerascoet lives and works in Paris in the worlds of cartooning and illustration. Best known for illustrating the book Miss Don't Touch Me written by Hubert, as well as a couple of the Lewis Trondheim Dungeon books, their most recent book Beautiful Darkness broke out on the US scene in 2014, winning them…


Book cover of Scaling: Why Is Animal Size So Important?

Mark S. Blumberg Author Of Freaks of Nature: What Anomalies Tell Us about Development and Evolution

From my list on seeing science differently.

Why am I passionate about this?

Even though I am a scientist who has written over 130 scientific articles, I have a longstanding passion for scientific books that are written for non-scientists. I love books about science, no matter how distant they are from my area of expertise. To me, the best science books convey the excitement of science and scientific thinking in an accessible manner, but without pandering or dumbing things down. My favorite books tackle big ideas and respect the reader’s intelligence. My choices here reflect my core interests in biology, evolution, and behavior—and the aesthetics of science, too. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

Mark's book list on seeing science differently

Mark S. Blumberg Why did Mark love this book?

The diverse, complex world of animals can seem chaotic. But we can bring order to this chaos by looking for grand principles that simplify and explain. One such grand principle concerns the foundational role of body size in shaping animal biology: From our skeletons to our use of energy to our longevity, size matters! And no one was better able to explain the importance of size in simple, straightforward terms than the inimitable physiologist, Knut Schmidt-Nielsen. This is a must-have book for anyone with even a passing interest in the diversity of life on our planet.  

By Knut Schmidt-Nielsen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Scaling as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book is about the importance of animal size. We tend to think of animal function in chemical terms and talk of water, salts, proteins, enzymes, oxygen, energy, and so on. We should not forget, however, that physical laws are equally important, for they determine rates of diffusion and heat transfer, transfer of force and momentum, the strength of structures, the dynamics of locomotion, and other aspects of the functioning of animal bodies. Physical laws provide possibilities and opportunities for an organism, yet they also impose constraints, setting limits to what is physically possible. This book aims to give an…


Book cover of The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color

Caroline Heldman Author Of The Sexy Lie: The War on Women’s Bodies and How to Fight Back

From my list on stop worrying about your body.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child raised in abject rural poverty and homeschooled in a Pentecostal Evangelical household, my intense experiences of sexism at home and church piqued my early interest in gender justice. As a Women’s Studies professor, my work centers on how social norms perpetuate patriarchy. Decades of research on body hatred has convinced me that anti-fat bias is a pressing social justice issue that harms us all. These books, especially if read in order, bust myths of fatness, unpack the racist origins of fatphobia, provide a chilling look at the personal wounds inflicted by anti-fat bias, and provide practical tools to reject the body hatred that plagues women by design. 

Caroline's book list on stop worrying about your body

Caroline Heldman Why did Caroline love this book?

Virgie Tovar’s The Self-Love Revolution: Radical Body Positivity for Girls of Color is exactly what it sounds like: A toolkit for practicing radical self-love.

Tovar challenges harmful diet culture and beauty culture messaging and teaches readers to spot intersecting sexism and racism in media. She encourages readers to reject cultural messages that promote body hatred, and instead, build lasting body empowerment by silencing our inner critic and moving beyond our body as the basis for our worth.

Every book Tovar has written will rock your paradigms about body size and fatness, but I especially recommend The Self-Love Revolution because it opens a space to truly imagine a world without fatphobia. And it comes with the tools and confidence boost to build that world. 

By Virgie Tovar,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Self-Love Revolution as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's time to ditch harmful, outdated beauty standards and build real, lasting body positivity. It's time for a self-love revolution!
Every day we see movies, magazines, and social media that make us feel like we need to change how we look. This takes a toll on how we think about ourselves-and how we allow others to treat us. And while many teens feel shame about their body, being a teen girl of color can be hard in unique ways. Maybe you feel alienated by the mainstream image of beauty, which is still thin, white and able-bodied. In addition to that,…


Book cover of Big Girl

David Haynes Author Of Right by My Side

From my list on kids with attitude.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a forty-five-year career educator, sharing my classrooms with students from primary school through graduate programs in creative writing. What I love most in every classroom I enter is sharing the books and stories and poems I love with my students. The best days: when I’m reading one of my favorite parts of the book out loud to the group and I look up and they laugh or gasp, or I look up and see their eyes full of joy. If it’s my own work I’m reading from, all the better!

David's book list on kids with attitude

David Haynes Why did David love this book?

The “big girl” of our title is Malaya Clondon, whose mother shames her endlessly about her weight. Malaya struggles to fit into all her worlds, be it the expected perfection of her mother and grandmother, the upper-class standards of her prep school peers, or a rapidly gentrifying Harlem. Malaya's clear-eyed and wise narration of her plight was an eye-opener for me. Big Girl is one of the most honest depictions I know of a young woman talking about what it feels like to be constantly judged because your body does not conform to the expectations of others. This book will stick with you for a long time.  

By Mecca Jamilah Sullivan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Big Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Alive with delicious prose and the cacophony of '90s Harlem, Big Girl gifts us a heroine carrying the weight of worn-out ideas, who dares to defy the compulsion to shrink, and in turn teaches us to pursue our fullest, most desirous selves without shame." -Janet Mock

Malaya Clondon hates when her mother drags her to Weight Watchers meetings in the church's stuffy basement community center. A quietly inquisitive eight-year-old struggling to suppress her insatiable longing, she would much rather paint alone in her bedroom, or sneak out with her father for a sampling of Harlem's forbidden street foods.

For Malaya,…


Book cover of The Littlest Yak

Kevin Asla Author Of Autumn's Halloween

From my list on fables with moral through the eyes of animals.

Why am I passionate about this?

I enjoy stories with morals & adventure! The animal kingdom has always been a favourite of children around the world, and a perfect way of conveying these fables without boring the reader. My particular love for foxes has always been there but also extends to other forest creatures. They are always my first choice when picking a book that kids will love and also for my video game designs.

Kevin's book list on fables with moral through the eyes of animals

Kevin Asla Why did Kevin love this book?

I love the scenery in this book. Great Himalayan mountains and crisp snow. Gertie is a perfect character that lets us see what many children struggle with. Gertie is not happy, she feels inferior, but an opportunity arrives which allows showing how valuable she is. Fun is intertwined within the pages of the books. The pictures are beautiful! Another fable story with a moral center!

By Lu Fraser, Kate Hindley (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Littlest Yak as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

WINNER of Oscar's Book Prize 2021!
WINNER Book of the Year and Best Picture Book at the Sainsbury's Children's Book Awards 2021!

Perfect for fans of Rachel Bright and Julia Donaldson, The Littlest Yak is a joyous, rhyming caper that teaches little ones to celebrate their own unique talents!

On the tip of the top of a mountain all snowy, where the ice-swirling, toe-curling blizzards were blowy, in a herd full of huddling yaks, big and small, lived Gertie . . . the littlest yak of them all.

Gertie is the littlest yak in her whole herd, and she's feeling…


Book cover of Big Little

Lorie Ann Grover Author Of I Love All of Me (Wonderful Me)

From my list on children's board books to cut your teeth on.

Why am I passionate about this?

In the course of everyday life, when I’m writing books for middle grade and young adult readers, board books spring to my mind. Sometimes they come from catching a glimpse of a child hugging a parent, or they may spring from a phrase I overhear or say myself. That sounds like a board book, I think, and I write it down quickly. Sometimes, I’ll wake in the night, and a board book text will come to me in rhyme. Along with writing board books, I’ve been recommending quality works at the readertotz blog since 2009 in order to raise the profile of the format. Authors, illustrators, and publishers must create the very best quality, and then we must support, enjoy, and celebrate the works. A simple eight words may introduce a first reader to a love of books for life.

Lorie's book list on children's board books to cut your teeth on

Lorie Ann Grover Why did Lorie love this book?

There are many Leslie Patricelli books featuring Baby but Big Little is an early work in the series. Leslie is a master in teaching concepts with an unexpected twist of humor. “Ladies are big. Ladybugs are little.” Baby is charming with his lemon-shaped head and ever-present diaper. Below his square nose, his smile is contagious. The work is hand-lettered and imagery is emphasized with a heavy black outline. Your baby will love this baby!

By Leslie Patricelli,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Big Little as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Whether you’re big or little, learning about opposites has never been more fun — or funny — than with this winning board book.

Ladies are big, but ladybugs are little. Amiably illustrated in a bright, graphic style, Leslie Patricelli’s spirited board book, Big Little, stars an obliging, bald, and very expressive toddler who acts out each pair of opposites with comically dramatic effect.


Book cover of The Tale of Despereaux Trade Book

Liz Montague Author Of The Equinox Test (School for Unusual Magic #1)

From my list on Magical worlds for young readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I struggled a lot with reading as a kid, I would not call myself a natural reader at all. When I was young, fantasy and magic stories were one of the few genres that could grip me enough to make me actually focus and attempt to read but I always hated the ones that took themselves too seriously (they always felt impossibly long to get through). Now, as a children’s author, myself, it’s my hope and passion to serve fellow young-readers-who-don’t-consider-themselves-readers with fun accessible stories. I hope you enjoy!

Liz's book list on Magical worlds for young readers

Liz Montague Why did Liz love this book?

I read this back in grade school! There’s a mouse, a princess, and a quest (the rest you can discover for yourself).

Despereaux is an unlikely hero but, armed with his sewing needle, the gang of rats he’s up against don’t stand a chance.

The story is completely immersive, to this day it makes me crave soup.

By Kate DiCamillo,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Tale of Despereaux Trade Book as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

A heartwarming young adventure story, winner of the prestigious Newbery Medal.

A deftly crafted fairy tale adventure story from a New York Times bestselling author, twice winner of the prestigious Newbery Medal. Here, reader, is the tale of a tiny, sickly mouse with unusually large ears; a mouse who takes his fate into his own hands. It is the tale of a beautiful, flaxen-haired princess who laughs often and makes everything around her seem brighter. It is the tale of a poor, deaf serving girl who entertains foolish dreams of splendour. It is a tale of impossible love, of bravery…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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