Princesses Don't Wear Jeans

Joan Buchanan is a writer, storyteller and instructor and author of
Taking Care of My Cold.

This short novel is a good choice for children in grades two and three
who are starting out on chapter books. It’s a caring, gentle story
about wanting to be friends with someone who looks and acts differently.

Tilly Perkins is a new member to Jeff’s Grade 3 class. Unlike the
other girls, she wears skirts and dresses instead of jeans. She also
writes highly imaginative stories in her journal about playing with wild
bears and dragons. Jeff finds her very interesting and wants desperately
for her to be like everyone else so that he can be friends with her. No
one plays with Tilly at recess, except the twins who aren’t good at
sports, but Tilly seems to enjoy herself nonetheless. Jeff wants to
invite the whole class to his birthday party, but he is afraid that no
one but Tilly and the twins will turn up if he invites Tilly.

An accomplished author, Bellingham uses language that is simple and
direct, never condescending. She writes in the best sense of “show,”
don’t tell, with realistic characters, natural dialogue, and a fitting
plot. Thus, she deals with serious themes such as trust and peer
pressure without moralizing. Her humorous and insightful use of
repetition builds up expectation, which helps beginning readers gain
confidence. Wakefield’s illustrations add to the realism and warmth of
the text. I highly recommend this book.