Sonoma State professor Hilary Homize is releasing her 17th children’s book, “If You Were a Princess: True Stories of Brave Leaders from Around the World” featuring the stories of almost 40 princesses. A nonfiction, informational, and very diverse book that turns around the concept of what a princess is or what she represents, the princesses in this book are coders, Olympic athletes, MD/PhDs, inventors, professors and astronomers. 

Professor Homzie is rather proud of this project. It is the first book to feature the achievements of actual princesses, past and present, from all around the world, from Jordan to Korea, from the Netherlands to India. She said, “It seemed like such an obvious idea that I was shocked that it didn’t already exist, but it really shouldn’t be that surprising. Women’s contributions have been long overlooked, and this includes historical as well as contemporary female rulers from royal lines, especially those who are non-white and non-European. Of course, with Queen Elizabeth’s passing, there is renewed interest right now in the contribution of women royal leaders in general, which is a good thing. I’m all for reconstructing and documenting women’s experiences.” She has an important message that you don’t have to be royal to be brave, to achieve big things, or to serve your community. 

Although Professor Homzie wasn’t always interested in princesses, she said, “I blame my fascination with all things royal on living beneath the Lewes Castle at the age of six, when my family was living in England (my dad was a professor at the University of Sussex at the time). Sure, the castle was in ruins, but every day, when I got out of bed and trundled off to school, those crumbling towers loomed over us… it made the whole history of the monarchy much more of a reality.” 

With the success of her 16 other children’s books, Homzie has landed herself on The Today Show and has been featured in the LA Times. In this story, “The information about the lives of the princesses is presented in sidebars, so the main story, of three girls who want to learn about princesses, can be read to a very young child as well as to a primary school student. The main story exhorts kids to stand up for themselves and to give to others… New research by Sarah Coyne at Brigham Young University shows that children involved in princess culture are more likely to advocate for female empowerment as they become older.” 

Her goal is to inspire children of all nationalities to embrace their culture and find their inner beauty and talent within themselves, emphasizing to kids that you don’t need a crown or a gown to hold your head up high.