What a cute book!! Amazingly illustrated and really well written. It was a fun, sweet read! Recommended.

Please note: I was provided this copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5 stars)
This was such a sweet little picture book about a young girl who wants to be a princess. While there was no Christian faith content in this book (because I’m a Christian, I definitely noticed a lot of themes that I thought could teach some great Biblical lessons, so maybe those would make an interesting conversation for parents and daughters), it was still a very positive message about the things that matter in life, and what really makes someone a princess.

Our main girl, Sophie, was such a wonderful character. I loved the fact that she stood up for her friends when they were dealing with prejudice from other kids, and she overcame obstacles to reach her goals. And that ending… oh, it was so sweet! Honestly, I couldn’t imagine a better way to wrap this story up.

The art style was adorable, and I loved watching as the story played out. The diversity in characters and the different personalities were really cute to see. Honestly, I would recommend this book to any young girl who ever dreamed of being a princess.

The content in this book was minimal– some bullying and prejudice, but overall, it was handled very well. I loved the way the story unfolded, and how the characters learned so much.

I would definitely recommend this book to young readers, princesses, or lovers of boba tea!

EMOJI REVIEW!
🧸 picture book
🏠 cultural diversity representation
👑 a story for all princesses
🧋 boba tea!!!
❤ great compassion and friendship

Cute book with a meaningful message that stuck out to my seven year old. I was interested to read this book with my daughter because she certainly loves all things royal. I've been wanting to share more altruistic messages with her and this book was a great way to do it! The book follows a little girl and her experiences with seeing other kids get what they want, seeing their poor attitude and the main little girl's experiences with the community and her determined actions.

What I liked: My daughter got the message and purpose of the book! I asked her afterward what she thought and I was pleased to hear she understood that helping others meant more than material things. Although, my daughter said she wished the little girl got the material thing she wanted too...so we still have room for growth. Overall, it was a great conversation starter and definitely pointed out a great message about generosity and what truly matters.

Things to note: There were instances in the book of other kids not saying nice things to each other. Then, the little girl main character defended a fellow student and brought a lesson to the story. I paused my reading to re-affirm to my child that what the other children said was not nice and we don't make fun of people to make the point clear.

Rating: 4 stars
Themes: generosity, thinking of others, materialism
Content warning: None, however it may start a conversation about teasing and how we treat others
Recommend: Yes!

If you're looking for a lesson-teaching book for your princess-lover, this is a great pick!

I had the sweetest time reading this with my niece! This charming story offers a heartwarming lesson on what it truly means to be a princess—highlighting kindness, thoughtfulness, and character over appearances. I especially appreciated the beautiful touch of diversity, while still emphasizing shared values that transcend backgrounds. Sophie’s gentle determination and unselfish spirit really stood out. Such a delightful and meaningful read! Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to enjoy this gem.

A really beautiful cover and inside artwork. My son really enjoyed this story and I thought the message was nice. It’s nice to read a book that displays different cultures and the kindness we can show each other.

A surprisingly down-to-earth story, despite the fairy-tale title.
It’s about a girl being raised by a hardworking single mother who runs a food truck - no castles or gowns here, just the real-life lessons of resilience, kindness, and understanding what it means to help others.

I appreciated the message and the heart behind the story. However, the writing felt a bit amateurish, and certain scenes (like the one at school lunch) seemed forced or overly pointed, as if trying to underline social or cultural contrasts in a way that didn’t fully work.

It feels like a debut effort, especially with the wide multilingual release, and I truly wish the author success and inspiration in future projects - there’s heart here, but the story structure could benefit from more polish and depth.

I read this book to my niece and the absolutely loved the story as well as the illustrations. I was nice to see different ethnicities as well as cuisines being portrayed in the book and the great thing was the protagonist pointing out the similarities in the dishes. This was not only a story for children but can also be a lesson for a lot of adults. The overall moral of the story was also great and can instil good morals and values to the readers. As a teacher, the thing I loved most about this was the comprehension questions at the end of the book. This can really help the readers think about and proses what they read as well as help with overall comprehension skills. The author and the illustrator honestly did an amazing job!

This book genuinely made me tear up. I loved the lesson of it’s what’s inside that matters and you don’t need a fancy dress to become a princess. You just need a kind heart!

This book is Part 1 of the "Are YOU Series" by Heidi Zhang.

I cannot get over how cute the illustrations in this book are!

In this story, our protagonist Sophie (named after one of Zhang's daughters) wishes so badly to be a princess and often compares herself (her clothes, her lunch) with that of other girls in her class, but sometimes those girls can be mean. In contrast, Sophie shows how strong and smart she can be by standing up for one of her classmates and explaining how food from different cultures can be the same and deliciously different all at the same time. She also chooses to use money she saved to buy herself a lovely princess dress to help a beloved neighbor--showing readers what it means to be a true princess.

The book ends with discussion questions for parents to check their children's understanding of the story.

Book is recommended for "For princesses and princes ages 4-10 👑💖🫵🏻"

Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial, Heidi Zhang (Author), and Gin Tran (illustrator) for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The title definitely reminded me of Sofia the First from Disney! This story was such a cute read with a lovely moral that you don't need flashy things to be a princess. It's your character that truly counts.

This is my honest opinion for the ARC I received. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity!

Thank you to BooksGoSocial Publishing, the author, the illustrator, and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this title.

The illustrations were by far the best part of this. They were colorful and whimsical. They were also drawn in a way that at times made it seem more like a graphic novel, which was not distracting but keep it interesting.

While the story had a good message and my daughter (7) was able to get, the story overall was confusing. It felt disjointed and random, especially the beginning about the different types of food. It was easy to see where that was going, but then it takes a left turn and we are talking about making money and helping people. Honestly, if it wasn't for the follow-up questions at the end, I think my daughter would not have put the 2 parts together.

When I asked my daughter what she liked best about the book, she said that she liked the colorful pictures. When I asked her what she would rate this, she said 3 stars. I would agree.

This book is cute, and I liked the art, but it was overly simplistic. The message was very positive, but it wasn't conveyed in an engaging way.

It's a cute story. The main character sets out to discover what it truly means to be a princess and learns that it’s not about sparkly dresses or fancy crowns, but about kindness, courage, and helping others.

With charming illustrations and a positive message, this book is perfect for young readers who love fairy tales but also want to see strong, thoughtful characters. A sweet and inspiring read that encourages kids to shine from the inside out.

My daughter has become a little reader like me and it makes my reader heart so happy. We try to read a book of some kind every night. Now she’s only 5 so she cant read just yet, but we love to find good cute books to read before bedtime. This book has quickly became a favorite of ours so much that’s in been added into our nightly book rotation when we do read together.

Are YOU a Princess By Heidi Zhang
⭐ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Quick Summary (Spoiler-Free!)

This is an adorable heartwarming book about a young girl who learns about the values and sense of self purpose in life. When she wants to be a princess like the other girls in her class, she learns about her purpose for herself and those around her. I was able to read this with my daughter and she loved it.



What I Loved:

Favorite element #1 I love the illustrations! Beautiful and colorful, and you can really see all of the detail in each picture.

Favorite element #2 Kindness. My daughter pointed out the kindness, and I loved how it showed different ways to be a kind person.

Favorite element #3 I loved the Cultural and culinary diversity. My daughter and I are now looking up new recipes to try that we have read about in the book.

What My Daughter Didn’t Love:

“ Those girls are bullies, not princesses “ is what my daughter pointed out while reading the part about the girls who were being mean. She had very strong feelings about it, and loved that Sophie and her actual friends shared their foods with each other.


Final Thoughts:

This book was a perfect way to bring in different conversations of how we as people need to be kind and thoughtful, and that even one person can make a big difference. My daughter loved it so much, it’s currently in our rotation of nightly reads. The illustrations are beautiful, colorful and bright, and we plan on buy a few other copies for my daughters friends for their birthdays.

Heidi Zhang's 'Are YOU a Princess?' is an adorable story about Sophie, a girl who wants nothing more than to be a princess. She learns that being a princess is not about appearances, but about what comes from within.

With the use of a diverse cast of characters and beautiful illustrations (by Gin Tran), we follow Sophie while she learns what truly matters in life. This message is conveyed clearly and I think it is something great to teach children. I also love that there are reading comprehension questions. Not only does this help children's reading comprehension from a young age, but it helps to get the message of the book across even more.

While I thought the page about the different kind of dumplings was thought=provoking, I think it was a bit random in the book. It does not really add to the main message/plot and the book feels too short to both. It kind of got me out of the book for a little bit.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I can't wait to show it to my niece.

A heartwarming tale about a little girl who learns what really matters in life. Wanting to buy a princess dress, a little girl starts her own boba stand to pay for it, so she can be like the other pretty girls. But when someone she loves needs help, the little girl uses her money to help instead. This one is a story about how to overcome needing to be like everyone else and finding out what is truly important. The art is reminiscent of Disney in the best way.

This sweet children's book was a wonderful story about a little girl who works hard to be a princess. I loved how this book celebrated different cultures and reversed some of the classic Asian stereotypes with food in order to shine light on other cultures and normalize Asian food. The dumplings of other cultures page made me smile because I had the same thought!! I also loved how the main character grows and does a noble deed to help someone in her community that she looks up to. I teared up at the ending of this story. I would read this to my young students!

This book was adorable. The illustrations sold it for me. I enjoyed them a lot. There was diversity and representation in every page.

The story on the other hand was confusing. It seemed like there were multiple stories going on but none of them went very far. If this book would have focused on one story, it would have been perfect. Still a very cute book, though.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Are You a Princess by Heidi Zhang gives a primary message of being kind to others.

With its cute illustrations, Sophie shows readers that to be a princess, one doesn't need to have a pretty princess dress; rather, being kind and helpful to others is what makes one a true princess.

Really cute story about speaking your mind and staying true to yourself and your beliefs. The illustrations were also well done!