Dealing with Dragons

I read this in 3rd grade, it's what I considered my first “real” book and it is the book that started my reading obsession. I really had some difficulty with reading before this book. After “Dealing with Dragon” I remember it kind of clicking.
I just read it again and it has not lost it's magic for me. It was turning fairy tails upside down before it was cool. I wouldn't be surprised if the makers of Shrek had read this first. Cimorene is a princess who doesn't want to be a princess so goes to live with a dragon. At age the of 9, I was enthralled. As a child of the 90's I was already in love with “The Little Mermaid,” and “Beauty and the Beast” (my personal favorite) was just coming out. So this was a perfect anti-princess to go along with the head strong Ariel and Belle. If you have a little girl that you want to get interested in reading, this would be a great place to start.
Unfortunately this was before Amazon, so I wan't able to get my hands on the rest of the series until I was an adult. But the rest of the books are not necessary (though they are recommended as well.)