Cesar Mendoza - Song for a Princess

Song for a Princess, by Rachael Mortimer and illustrated by Maddy McClellan, is a book about a princess that is sad and has no idea what will make her happy. Animals from the community try many things to make her happy like bring her food, jewels, entertainment, etc... but they one thing that makes her smile and happy again, is the song of a small bird. Gender neutralization I think is really important in education moving forward and this book can be a stepping stone for that. While expressing that music is really a source for happiness and feelings, we can also explore with students that using words like rainbow, sunshine, love, kiss, beauty, etc... do not describe a specific gender. Rather we need to tell them that honoring each other and being respectful is a good quality. I would read this book aloud to my students and to DR-TA with them. This book has good stopping points that can allow students to become good at predicting and interacting with a text.