Book Review: The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch
I love this story.
Spoiler alert, but you’ve got to hear the basics. There is a prince and a princess and a dragon. But in this one, the dragon steals the prince and the princess has to rescue him. And after she tracks them down and then saves him from a dragon the prince has the nerve to put her down for smelling bad and not wearing ‘princess clothes’. So she dumps is a…. err, she doesn’t marry him.
When either of my girls dates a jerk, I will pull this book back out and read it to them again. I don’t care if they are 25 at the time.
June 19th, 2008 at 8:31 am
One of my ALL TIME FAVORITES!!!! I practically know the story by heart and I don’t even have a daughter yet. LOL
Which reminds me, I think it is time to buy this book for my neice. She is about to turn 4 and LOVES, anything with a princess. Good time to start making an impression.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Love this book too. I read it to my middle schoolers and you should hear the discussion! Awesome!
June 19th, 2008 at 11:14 am
great review, RQ. I love the current day take on your typical princess in distress.
June 19th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
Thanks RQ. I thought I’d share one of my daughter’s favorite titles with you. “Princess Smartypants” by Babette Cole is similar. In fact, I noticed on Amazon these two books are frequently purchased together. Princess Smartypants is a great role model–she enjoys “being a Ms.” Here’s the synopsis from The School Journal:
“PreSchool-Grade 3 Princess Smartypants doesn’t want to get married; she’d rather live with her pets. Commanded by her parents to find herself a husband, the Princess sets tasks for her horde of suitors. Prince Vertigo is commanded to rescue her from her crystal tower; Prince Grovel’s quest is to take the Queen shopping; and so on. All of the potential husbands fail miserably as the gleeful Princess looks onuntil Prince Swashbuckle appears. He accomplishes all of the challenges with resourcefulness and a royal flourish, and is rewarded with a kiss from Her Highness. He’s transformed into a gigantic warty toad. When word gets out, Princess Smartypants loses her appeal and so lives happily ever after. Truly comical watercolors in softly glowing colors complement this fairy tale parody perfectly. The Princess wears overalls; among her pets are goofy-looking dragons and other magical beasts. Clever details add to the fun; one of Prince Swashbuckle’s medals features a tiny golden pig. Probably more fun for adults than children, this is still an appealing book for budding feminists. It presents a new slant on the traditional fairy tale princess in a light-handed, tongue-in-cheek manner. A refreshing alternative.”
June 19th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
There is a special 25th anniversary edition out, which talks about the collaboration of Munch & Marchenko & also talks about publishing books etc. It’s a great classroom resource & good for home too….
KatiesMama
June 19th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
…hands down..Robert Munsch is always a winner…he has created sooo many memories for us all. A colleague that I work with was away on holiday and had a chance to meet him at the same resort…..truely magical and once in a lifetime…thank RQ for sharing such lovely pieces of work..
June 19th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
…changing the subject…Has anyone watched the ABC World News tonight???…looks like China will raise gas prices by 20% tomorrow….lowering the subsidy that they pitch in…yikes….One more thing we have in common with our friends from the Far east….$$$ for gas..ugh!
June 21st, 2008 at 10:42 am
BEST. BOOK. EVER. What a great tool for girls to learn that 1) beauty is shallow & fleeting 2) fashion isn’t everything 3) charachter & inner beauty are what matters 4) attracting the attention of boys is not the primary aim of some girls who value themselves more than defining themself as “half” of something . . . and on like that — Love, Lov, Love this story.
A person can check out this video from most libraries — free — if yours doesn’t have it, convince them to get it. The world will be a better place.
June 21st, 2008 at 10:42 am
whoops. That’s “Character” and “Love” :P