Baśnie o rycerkach, wojowniczkach i nie tylko

Everyone knows the tales of poor Cinderella, the princess locked in the tower, or the sleeping beauty. Beautiful but weak, passive, and helpless – victims leaning on men's arms or wicked witches – these are not heroines worth emulating, and their fates fail to inspire or support modern girls. They need other role models – myths and fairy tales about heroines who didn't stand in the shadows and took life by the horns. And they'll find them in the collection "Fairy Tales of Knights, Warriors, and More."

Anita Ganeri has collected 15 stories from various eras, cultures, and traditions. They feature girls and women who are wise, strong, cunning, warriors, and independent. They accomplish great things in many ways: saving themselves and others from oppression; grappling with adversity; facing enemies, curses, and prejudice; overthrowing stereotypes, experiencing adventures, and fulfilling dreams.

Written in an accessible language, illustrated with modern style and elegantly published, these fairy tales come to life again to inspire and encourage girls who are slowly turning into teenagers, and to remind boys that silly princesses are a thing of the past.

This book is not only wise and beautiful, but also, perhaps above all, necessary. And not just for girls. For example, when one of the characters, the knight Mizilca from the Romanian fairy tale, is asked if she's really a boy in disguise, she replies with her own question: "Does it matter if I fulfill my duties as well as the other knights?" She adds that many of her fellow knights enjoy what was, in such an old-fashioned way, meant to lead to the revelation of her female identity: beautiful clothes and pearls. Every child needs such a message. It supports the feeling that I truly have the right to be myself. And being myself is one of the key conditions for mental health. If this message—as in this book!—is dressed in the beautiful garb of a fairy tale, it has the power to penetrate to the depths of one's personality. And that means it works in a way that is simply unimaginable. Przemek Staroń, patron of the book, psychologist, Teacher of the Year 2018, author of "School of Heroines and Heroes"

The book contains fairy tales:

• Brave Bradamanta (France)
• Atalanta, the fleet-footed archer (Greece)
• Nana Miriam and the Monster Hippopotamus (Niger)
• The Noble Courage of Tokoyo (Japan)
• Tiny Molly Whuppie and the Giant (England)
• Mizilca in the service of the Sultan (Romania)
• The Raggedy Woman and the Princess (Norway)
• Princess Imani and the Magic Fan (India)
• Maada and the Mountain Hunter (Canada)
• Sumac and the Search for the Magic Lake (Inca Empire)
• Feng Mian, head of the family (China)
• Unanana and the Elephant (South Africa)
• The Brave Queen and the Evil Sorcerer (Russia)
• Fallon, the girl from the North (Norway)
• The Princess, the Merchants and the Wardrobe (Sudan)