For little girls, Cinderella and Snow White may be the ultimate storybook characters. And these princesses certainly have their place in a child’s world — up to a point.

For parents who want their daughters to grow up looking for a bit more from life than a prince to rescue them, there’s the "Anti-Princess Reading List" (click on it under "browse by category") over at a wonderful website I just discovered: mommytrackd.com.

Just looking at the titles brought me back to some of the heroines I loved as a girl: Nancy Drew, Pippi Longstocking, Harriet the Spy. These gals solve crimes, wear what they please (and it rarely includes taffeta), and have marvelous adventures.

I’m not suggesting an all-or-nothing approach here. After all, who says a kid can’t wear her Princess Jasmine costume while reading a story about a girl taking first place at the school science fair?