The Paper Bag Princess

Another reading day with the Littles (granddaughters ages 7 and 9) and this time was unexpected: Mom was heading out of town and Dad's return flight was delayed. Would I pick them up from school? You bet I would.

I quickly grabbed two books out of the book box I have for them and was on my way.

What's not to love about this book, one I read to their mother when she was a Little herself. This is the traditional Princess story turned on its head. It is the Prince that needs rescuing. Fearlessly she outwits the dragon and saves her beloved. Then finds out she's quite okay not having him as her incompatible beloved, after all.

My kind of chick. The Littles kind, too.

When Princess Elizabeth's intended, Prince Ronald, is kidnapped by the marauding dragon who destroyed her castle and burnt all of her belongings to a crisp, the resourceful young royal dons a paper bag and sets out in hot pursuit. She cunningly tricks the dragon into exhausting himself, and then liberates Ronald, only to be told that she doesn't look like a proper princess. Fed up, Elizabeth tells him that although he may look like a prince, he's really a bum. In the end, the narrative concludes, "They didn't get married after all".

Originally published in 1980, and then reprinted this year (2018) in this new edition, The Paper Bag Princess is a classic of Canadian children's literature. An early feminist fairy-tale, it features a show more resourceful heroine who rescues the boy (rather than the other way around), and who rejects some of the traditional qualities (fashionable clothing, for instance) stereotypically associated with women. I first read this one years ago, and haven't revisited it until now. It definitely stands up to an adult reading, and is every bit as amusing as I recall - that final lines never fails to win a chuckle. Recommended to anyone looking for picture-books about strong, resourceful girls, or with a taste for fractured fairy-tales. show less

Recommended by Susan Dorson.

Loved this! Read it twice in a row. A dragon burns down Elizabeth's castle and all her clothes, and steals her prince, Ronald, so Elizabeth puts on the only thing she can find (a paper bag) and goes off to rescue him. She does this by cleverly complimenting the dragon into showing off his fire-breathing and flying, effectively tuckering him out. But when Ronald criticizes her appearance, she gives him what-for, and they don't get married after all. A kick-ass fairy tale that everyone should read!

The reason this book has been historically banned are atrocious. This is a classic story of a princess who saves not just herself, but the prince as well. The problem, for this reader, is that the prince is a narcissistic A55#013 who can not see beyond the vain. He tells the princess, who just saved him, that a paper bag is a horrible thing to wear and to come back when better dressed. As a woman, I stand behind this princess kicking that horrible prince to the curb. And that is why this book is banned. I thought it would be for the nearly naked illustration, but no, because it subverts gender norms. Because the princess is the savior, and wont kowtow to the prince. UGGGHHH. I love this book. This book should not be banned, it should be show more celebrated. It is a classic for a reason and will be loved by generations to come. show less

Before Pretty Princess Elizabeth can marry handsome Prince Ronald, a dragon burns down the castle and carries Ronald off. Dressed in a paper bag, the brave princess heroically finds the dragon's cave, tricks the dragon into exhausting itself, rescues Ronald while the dragon is sleeping. Ronald then has only one thing to say to Elizabeth that she is a mess! Elizabeth quickly realizes that she is better off without this ungrateful bum.

This story by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Michael Martchenko portrays emotion through artwork. The story itself begins with a princess wanting to marry a specific prince. When her castle is burned down and he is stolen by a fire-breathing dragon she puts on a paper bag and sets out to rescue him. After out witting the dragon and rescuing the prince he tells her she doesn't look like a princess, and to come back when she is dressed like a "real princess."
The artwork portrays her skipping off into the sunset after telling him he is a bum, and not marrying him. In the artwork you see an array of expression on the princess' face. Some of these include "love", surprise, anger, fear, joy, and disappointment. I enjoyed this story show more because it expresses the abilities a princess has outside of the typical fairy tale we are used to. The heroin is a small princess who, through her own actions, overcomes large obstacles and reaches the victim only to find out he doesn't appreciate her for her actions or her "self" but instead is focused on her looks.
In the age we live in, I believe children's books have an obligation to show children that they are special despite their looks, that young women have the power to defeat dragons themselves (metaphorically speaking for huge obstacles they may face in life), and to find out how a person truly is from their actions and not by their appearance. This book captures that well with understandable language and pictures that even the smallest of children will understand. show less

I like how this story flips the traditional fairytale of the boy saving the girl. I also liked how it broke the reality of you needing a man to be happy, because the truth is, you don't. The princess did everything on her own to save the prince, but in the end, the prince did not appreciate it. I felt bad for the prince for being trapped with the dragon, but now I don't. If I'm being honest, the prince was selfish for not appreciating the princess. I'm glad that the princess told him right off that he looks like a prince, but on the inside, he's not.