Pragmatic Princess

Drawing from her own experience as a mother and a research psychologist, award-winning author Dr. Rachel Kowert presents tales of empowerment and self-reliance in her new children’s book, “Pragmatic Princess: 26 Superb Stories of Self-Sufficiency.”

Inspired by her own frustration as a mother of two seeking reading content featuring female leads who weren’t superheroes or male-companion dependent, Kowert’s book offers stories of everyday girls, solving everyday problems, with their everyday abilities. And the 26 stories represent children of all backgrounds, abilities and family types – each with a distinct personality – from Winnie the Wise who says, “...we are the ones who make our dreams come true, not other people, in the end it is up to you” to Xena the Xenial who reminds us, “We have so much to learn from one another, but only if we can listen to each other.”

After Kowert successfully raised more than $26,000 in just 30 days through a Kickstarter campaign, the book was developed with psychology and science in mind to maximize the potential for learning, as the characters in childhood stories are some of our earliest teachers. “Pragmatic Princess” is changing the narrative, moving beyond the tropes that female characters are best suited as damsels in distress or needing superpowers to be successful. And Kowert’s work pays particular attention to communities underrepresented in children’s books. More than 16 of the stories in the book feature a black, Asian or ethnic minority character in a central role, and two feature disabled children as the story leads.

“The symbolic models in our storybooks have a strong, long-lasting influence on our development,” Kowert says. “We need stories where female voices matter (no matter their ability or background) and where the diversity of the characters reflect the diversity of the world around us. By providing models that experience everyday challenging situations, ‘Pragmatic Princess’ also helps open the discussion for parents and teachers to talk about difficult childhood topics before they happen and provides the tools and strategies to successfully navigate these challenges.”