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Posted July 7, 2009 by Mary Dixon Lebeau

Belle was trapped in a castle with a beast. Cinderella had to endure the taunts of her stepsisters before being transformed by a "Bibiddy Bobbity Boo." And Rapunzel was sentenced to a tower, never to see a hairstylist.

Every princess has a story. Heck, some even have sequels. So of course, as soon as Princess Lots-Of-Locks was old enough, she started asking for a story all her own.

At first, these stories took the shape of impromptu fairy tales. "Once upon a time," we'd start at bedtime, then tell the story of some significant moment in her life, all with a "royal" twist. We told the stories over and over, so many times that, at age three, Libby could recite the details of her first step, her first sleigh ride, and her first encounter with a bowl of spaghetti.

"Why aren't I in a storybook?" she asked us one night after we finishes an especially "happily ever after. Why not indeed? After all, I've written about her plenty, and the King has taken pictures documenting her every step since he received a digital camera for his very first Father's Day. The next day, with a handful of those photos, some construction paper and a bit of imagination, Libby and I made our very first installment in the Neverending Saga of Princess Lots-of-Locks.

When she was younger, Libby would wait impatiently while I wrote the story. Then she would scribble the scenery around the pictures we carefully chose to illustrate each tale.

Now that she's older, the stories have become more of a collaborative effort. Often Libs will dictate the story to me, then we'll join up with Max, the family artisan, to design the books using our own sketches and King Scott's pics.

Sure, you won't find Libby's tales on The New York Times Best Sellers List -- at least, not yet. But I know that as she grows older, I'll treasure these stories most of all. After all, they're my personal "golden books."

Here's how to make some of your own:

MATERIALS:

• Construction paper
• Printer paper and a favorite font
• Scissors
• Crayons
• Ribbon
• Glue Stick
• Pictures (we print ours straight from our PC; it's cheaper than real photos)
• Lots of Imagination

1. Write the story. In the case of our latest, "How to Tell A Genuine Princess," Libby dictated it to me and I did some editing (like I said, her saga is neverending!).

2. Choose a font and color that's appropriate (we used Formal436 and plum). Then print out the story, skipping a space between lines to allow you to cut the words out.

3. Cut out the words and, using a glue stick, place the words on your construction paper.

4. Cut out the images you'll be using from your pictures. For this story, we used mostly head-and-shoulders so we could draw in the various dance shoes and crowns the princess would be wearing.

5. Using crayons, finish the princess on the page. Make sure you read the words to dress her appropriately. Then design and color the background for the page.

6. When all the pages are finished, put them in order so the story makes sense.

7. Design your cover.

8. Using a hole puncher, punch holes through the covers and the pages of your book. Then thread ribbon through the holes to hold your book together.

Viola! You've just published your very own princess story, creating the first chapter of your little one's own story -- and a keepsake you'll be reading for years to come.