Princess Prayers (Book Review)
We recently got a chance to review a new book, Princess Prayers by Crystal Bowman (inspired by Jeanna Young and Jacqueline Johnson). This sweet, colorful board book with a padded cover is a great way to introduce little girls to the idea of praying throughout the day. Each page features a simple rhyming prayer related to different parts of one’s day, followed by a related Bible verse. The book starts with a prayer for first thing in the morning upon wakening and ends with “my nighttime prayer.” In between, the prayers cover various topics like thankfulness, appreciating the beauty of God’s creation, trusting God when we feel afraid, and acknowledging God’s love and care.
This book is designed to draw in “girly-girls”. From the hot pink spine, glittery cover, and fun illustrations featuring the characters from the Princess Parables series by Jeanna Young and Jacqueline Johnson, there is much that appeals to little girls like my 5-year old daughter. The rhyming text by Crystal Bowman doesn’t refer to the characters at all, however, so even girls unfamiliar with the series can enjoy the prayers without feeling like they’re missing something.
Overall, there is much to love about this charming book of prayers. My one criticism would be that tying it to the Princess Parables series results in a glaring lack of diversity. (The series is about five sisters, so it makes sense that they all look fairly alike, but I wish there was more of an effort to show princesses from different ethnic backgrounds, especially in a book like this that doesn’t have a story about the family.) However, aside from this issue, I recommend the book for anyone considering it for a little girl who enjoys colorful pictures, rhyming text, and of course, anything related to princesses.
