A down-to-earth princess who goes on hikes, plays soccer, and stomps in the mud stars in Carmela LaVigna Coyle’s picture book series that debuted in 2003 with Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots? Last month, Taylor Trade released the latest installment, Do Princesses Have Best Friends Forever?, illustrated by Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon. This father-son team also illustrated the earlier books in the series, which in addition to the inaugural title include Do Princesses Really Kiss Frogs?, Do Princesses Scrape Their Knees?, and Do Princesses Count?, a board book. The questions posed in these titles—inspired by the inquisitiveness of Coyle’s own daughter—have resonated with other real-life princesses: the books in the series have sold 470,000 copies.
“I was literally handed the title of the first book by my then four-year-old,” says Coyle. “We were getting ready to go on a hike when my daughter Annie asked, ‘Do princesses have to wear hiking shoes?’ She was wearing a pink tutu over denim shortalls, mismatched socks, and a glittery tiara—and was holding a pair of her brother’s hand-me-down hiking boots.” Before Coyle could answer, Annie blurted out two more questions, inquiring if princesses go potty and if they have to brush their teeth.
“It didn’t take me very long to realize that Annie wanted to know if she possibly—maybe—qualified as a princess,” recalls the author. “This was a personal exploration for her, and she really needed an answer.” Annie’s curiosity led Coyle to pen Do Princesses Wear Hiking Boots?, though she was careful not to answer that question point-blank. “Since this was such a personal question for my daughter, I chose not to directly answer it in this story, but rather allow the child in the book ponder the answer for herself. It’s more powerful that way, I think.”
Theresa Howell agreed. She applied for a job as an editor at Rising Moon, the children’s imprint of Northland Publishing, at the time Coyle submitted her manuscript to the house. As Howell sat down for her interview with publisher David Jenney, he handed her Coyle’s story and asked her if she would opt to publish it should she land the job. “I was very nervous, given the interview situation,” says Howell. “I read the book and loved it immediately, and told him that I thought Rising Moon should publish it. I got the job—and we did.”
Howell edited that book and the next three Princesses titles for Rising Moon, until Northland was sold to Cooper Square Publishing in 2007. That company, which focuses on backlist publishing, is a joint venture with Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, of which Taylor Trade is a division. Subsequent Princesses books and other titles by Coyle will also be published under the Taylor Trade imprint. “Backlist books in the Princesses series will remain as Rising Moon titles for the time being,” says Rick Rinehart, Taylor Trade’s editorial director.
Howell, who now works for Taylor Trade as project editor for the Princesses series, is hopeful that there are more installments to come. “There is room for more books about this princess, who has taken on a life of her own,” she remarks. “These books capture what a little girl is really like. She might be running around the house dressed up in a princess outfit, but she’s also doing things that reveal other aspects of what it’s like to be a girl. Kids are reflected on the pages of these books as they really are.”
That observation is entirely in line with Coyle’s intentions. “This series is all about encouraging a princess to be inquisitive, curious, and even rambunctious,” she says. “She can build forts, climb trees, and fall on the ice—as well as ‘take’ tea. Her diversity is so cool. And so real.”
Coyle’s next Princesses tale, not yet titled or scheduled for publication, is a prequel showing how the heroine acquired her equally precocious dog. And the author anticipates that more stories will follow. “I will happily write about the inner and outer workings of princesses as long as there are little girls who ponder the concept,” she says. “But it must also continue to be genuine. There are so, so many directions this series could go. I’m never without ideas. It’s very fun.”
Do Princesses Have Best Friends Forever? by Carmela LaVigna Coyle, illus. by Mike Gordon and Carl Gordon. Taylor Trade (NBN, dist.), $15.95 Dec. ISBN 978-1-58979-542-6
Editor's note: The number of copies this series has sold was supplied to PW erroneously; this is a corrected version of our original story.
