Given that most little girls love to dress up as princesses, it is difficult to imagine what might be wrong with that. But one author has written an entire book on how she believes the fairy tale fantasies send a dangerous message.

Jennifer L Hardstein is behind the recently-published Princess Recovery: A How-To Guide to Raising Strong, Empowered Girls Who Can Create Their Own Happily Ever Afters. The child and adolescent psychologist believes that children as young as two are taking away unrealistic ideals from fairy tale books and Disney cartoons that can affect their self-esteem later on.

In her book, Dr. Hardstein theories that traditional stories like Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella promote the idea that if a girl is pretty enough and has fancy clothes and shoes, she find love and popularity. The author refers to this phenomenon as the “Princess Syndrome”

These kinds of messages, she says, have a huge impact on a girl's self-confidence and make it hard for children to understand as they grow up, that intelligence, generosity and passion are more important value. During an appearance on CBS' Early Show, Dr. Hardstein explained: “Girls are getting this message everywhere that. … what their worth is based on is how they look and the things that they have and it's very superficial (肤浅的)”

Her book teaches parents how to let their toddlers (幼儿) enjoy the Disney moves and their teenagers watch figures in reality shows while encouraging a discussion about the messages projected by the media. Speaking on the show she said: “Parents think their kids will understand the messages that they receive all the time but actually they don't.”

As well as warning of the dangers of “Princess Syndrome” her book advise parents how to guide and empower their children from an early age. Dr. Hardstein warns of the influence of toys like Barbie dolls and teenager celebrities who might wear heavy make-up.

Princess Recovery, she assure parents, will bring “balance, confidence, and self-sufficiency into your daughter's life while giving her a modern, energetic childhood.”

The Bestselling Books of 2021

The first six months of 2021 saw sales of adult fiction buoy(浮出) overall print book sales week after week. Still, the only one runaway bestseller in the first half of the year is a children’s book: Mothering Heights, which topped the year-to-date children’s overall bestseller list and has sold upwards of 867, 000 copies since its March 23 release.

Another kids’ book, Dr. Seuss’s bestseller Oh, the Places You ’ll Go!, placed second overall, selling more than 584, 000 print copies. This marked an increase of roughly 200, 000 copies compared to the book’s sales last year at this time. Of the top five children’s bestsellers this year to date, three are by Seuss and two are by Pilkey.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah was the top-selling adult title in the first half of 2021, and its roughly 558, 000 copies sold made it the third-biggest bestseller overall. Four Winds was followed on the adult list by backlist bestseller The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy, which pushed around 544, 000 copies. Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb sold nearly 456, 000 copies and placed third.

In the YA(Young Adult)section, Leigh Bardugo has had a banner year, with three of her Grishaverse novels placing in the top 10 and selling a combined total of roughly 421, 000 copies. Her books have benefited from the Netflix film Shadow and Bone, which was adapted from Bardugo’s book of the same name. Adam Silvera had the top seller in YA with They Both Die at the End, selling 330, 000 copies.

My Favourite Books

Jo Usmar is a writer for Cosmopolitan and co-author of the This Book Will series(系列) of lifestyle books. Here she picks her top reads.

Matilda

Roald Dahl

I once wrote a paper on the influence of fairy tales on Roald Dahl’s writing and it gave me a new appreciation for his strange and delightful words. Matilda’s battles with her cruel parents and the bossy headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, are equally funny and frightening, but they’re also aspirational.

After Dark

Haruki Murakami

It’s about two sisters—Eri, a model who either won’t or can’t stop sleeping, and Mari, a young student. In trying to connect to her sister, Mari starts changing her life and discovers a world of diverse “night people” who are hiding secrets.

Gone Girl

Gillian Fynn

There was a bit of me that didn’t want to love this when everyone else on the planet did, but the horror story is brilliant. There’s tension and anxiety from the beginning as Nick and Amy battle for your trust. It’s a real whodunit and the frustration when you realise what’s going on is horribly enjoyable.

The Stand

Stephen King

This is an excellent fantasy novel from one of the best storytellers around. After a serious flu outbreak wipes out 99.4% of the world’s population, a battle unfolds between good and evil among those left. Randall Flagg is one of the scariest characters ever.