This would be a great book for older children to read because it is very text based but also it teaches lessons that an older child might comprehend better. I also think it would be amazing for girls to read because the stories are based on strong woman.

I read "The Princess Who Wished to Be Beautiful," and loved a particular passage which described what the princess went through to become someone who she ended up not wanting to be. She used henna dye in her hair and the way it was worded made me remember my experience with henna, the smell, the texture, and the redness of the skin and hair after using henna. She ended up not taking pride in her skills as a warrior and left her city where it went wrong as bandits took over. She later realizes that people love her and cherish her very much as their princess and in her city is where she belonged to be there for her people.

This book was really interesting to me. I think it is a good collection of stories about girls and women in India. The one story I really liked was The Daughter in Law who got her way. All of them are interesting but I really like ones with those classic fairy tale endings. I love that this book also has explination of the Gods and Goddesses in the back for those of us who are unfamiliar.

The story is about a king who asks the goddess Savitri to grant him a son. She tells him he will have no sons but a daughter, more beautiful and wise than anyone has ever seen. In honor of the goddess they name her Savitri. Savitri grows to be wise and beautiful just like the goddess says, but this causes a problem. The king and queen cannot find a husband for her because all the men are intimidated by her. So the king sends Savitri out to find her own husband. Savitri finds her husband in Satyavan. Satyavan’s parents are old and blind, they live in the forest and their enemies have taken all of their land. Savitri is determined though to make Satyavan her husband, so they wed.
This book tells stories from a different culture and it is a really great story that shows strength in women and loyalty.

A great collection of Indian mythology that feature women characters. Only a few illustrations but they were great. Myth specifically read: The Love Story of Roopmati and Baz Bahadur. ( )