Women have contributed so much to history. And now, there's a new children's book that celebrates the life of one particular woman: Princess Diana. The book, titled A Real Life Fairy Tale: Princess Diana, is the first in a series of illustrated biographies that chronicles the inspiring lives of renowned women who went from relative anonymity to global icons. Each woman gave contributions that changed the world.
A Real Life Fairy Tale: Princess Diana
Written by children's book author, Emberli Pridham, A Real Life Fairy Tale: Princess Diana, is a 48-page read geared toward grade-school children and will be released on Sept. 1, just in time for some back-to-school reading.
The book, which features 17 full-page color illustrations, takes young readers through Diana's growing up years as a spunky girl in Norfolk, England, to her courtship by Queen Elizabeth’s son, Prince Charles, and her emergence as one of contemporary history’s most accomplished fighters for social change.
“Princess Diana’s down-to-earth demeanor and warm nature has always inspired me, and I wanted to pass that inspiration down to my children and to every child from that generation,” Pridham, a mom of three who hails from Dallas, TX, said. “I want them to know about her life story and what better way than a fun picture book.”
Combining thought-provoking text and original illustrations, each book in Pridham’s A Real Life Fairy Tale series is designed to introduce children to several of the most distinguished women in contemporary history and inspire them with their lives and legacies. In addition to the biography of the much-beloved Princess of Wales, Pridham’s A Real Life Fairy Tale book series will also feature Princess Grace and Jackie Kennedy.
“I chose to start with Princess Diana because she was both a real-life princess and a woman that made a huge impact on society through her kindness and philanthropic work,” Pridham siad. “Diana was graceful and compassionate towards people from all walks of life. She helped build bridges to people that the world had forgotten about.”
Often known as the people's princess, Diana helped fight the stigma that was often associated with AIDS at the time of the virus' onset. In 1987, she helped open the UK's first purpose built HIV/AIDS unit at London Middlesex Hospital. As the BBC reports, “In front of the world's media, Princess Diana shook the hand of a man suffering with the illness. She did so without gloves, publicly challenging the notion that HIV/AIDS was passed from person to person by touch.”
At a time when a lack of understanding about the virus caused immense fear around the world, this compassionate act was almost unfathomable to many people.
The idea for A Real Life Fairy Tale series came to Pridham as she was reading to her daughter, Brooke.
“I thought how great it would be to have a picture book about an inspiring princess from real life. After searching for something similar and realizing that there was nothing like it on the market, I decided to write the book myself,” Prindham explained.
Pridham is also the author of If Not You, Then Who?, a children's book about inventors and innovations, which she says is designed to empower kids and foster their own creativity.
A Real Life Fairy Tale: Princess Diana is available at barnesandnoble.com, other online booksellers and select retailers nationwide. 10% of the proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit Centrepoint, a UK organization that was important to Princess Diana.
Photo credit: Mariah Gale Creative
