A family favorite with a resourceful heroine, and a great reminder not to settle!

Independent reading level: grades 2-5

It is never too early to teach girls to not settle, and to save the prince! Even if Ronald is a pathetic prince. ( )

Independent Reading Level: Grades 2-5
Honors/Awards: N/A

When I was growing up, The Paper Bag Princess was one of my go to books. I'm not kidding, I knew that story inside out and could recite it without the book. As I got older, I lost that ability to recite this book without hesitation, but the memories are still there. This book holds a special place in my heart! Robert Munsch is a genius!

So, as the story suggests there is a Princess. Her name is Elizabeth! She is beautiful, lives in a big fancy castle, is engaged to Ronald, and has everything her heart could desire. And then a dragon comes along and ruins everything (like most girl's everyday life - obviously). Prince Ronald has been carried away and all of her belongings are gone! So, like most girls these days, she put on her best paper bag and went off to save the Prince! And how will she battle this wretched dragon? With her smarts!

This story gave me Shrek vibes before I even watched Shrek. It's not your average fairy tale and it's quite amusing! Elizabeth is a sassy yet relatable girl with some interesting (yet amusing) problems. I love that the Princess is the hero (and this is 40 years old, so Princesses weren't always kicking butt and taking names like they do today) and that she's wicked smart. I also love that in the end she stands up for herself and doesn't do what's expected of her. This book definitely added in to my spunky behaviour as an adult.

The art work doesn't connect with me as much as it did when I was a kid. Of course, my style and preferences has changed but I still think the pictures work with the story. As always, the cover is what really stuck with me.

I did like the forewards in this book - Chelsea Clinton and Francesca Segal share some sweet stories that I connect with. This book is a special part of childhood history for many people, so it was nice to see it wasn't just me who was obsessed with this book!

Overall, this is still one of my must read books. I'm glad this book is still circulating around and I hope many more girls pick up this butt kicking book and share it with the world!

Five out of five stars. I'd give it more if possible!

Thank you to NetGalley and Annick Press Ltd. for letting me travel back to my youth with this arc review. Seriously, I can hear my reading buddies chanting "Hey Dragon, Hey Dragon." ( )

Independent Reading Level: 1st Grade
Awards/Honors: None ( )

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 celebrated. It is a classic for a reason and will be loved by generations to come. ( )

A dragon kidnaps a prince, just when the princess was to marry him. everything burns except a paper bag, which then becomes the clothing of the princess. The princess tracks the dragon, outwits it, rescues the prince, only for the prince to tell her that he will not marry someone who wears a paper bag.. ( )

This book starts out with a beautiful princess who loses her prince. She loses her beautiful dress and has to wear a paper bag to find a prince. On her way there is a dragon in the way that teaches her determination. When she finally sees the prince he is snobby and does not like the way she looks. The princess does not marry the prince because of his attitude. I love this book for the classroom because it teaches the lesson that we should not pick and choose the people we love solely on their appearance. ( )

This was fun. ( )

Ok, maybe it's a 4.75 star book. But hey, let's round up generously because this book is so pleasantly different than the usual princess stories.

I've already read it to my 8.5 month daughter once and plan to read it, and other sequels, to her in the future. ( )

This book is one of my favorites. It has an excellent message that it doesn't matter what others say or think about you. ( )

This is a funny little story about a clever princess. It has been a favorite ever since I was little. ( )

Elizabeth is a beautiful princess who has to use courage and a lot of brains to outwit the dragon who has kidnapped her prince who turns out to be not-so-charming.

Well hello! Here's an assertive princess! Girl power avant-la-letre, in a kids book that's almost 40 years old...

To anyone who's been complaining we 'don't have enough strong female leads in stories', you've just been looking in the wrong places... ( )

This book describes a young girl who chases after a prince who believe she is perfect. Because a dragon burned all of her clothes and kidnapped her fiancé, she wears a paper bag as her only form of clothing. When she saves her Fiance, the prince, he says she can save him when she looks lien a real princess. Frustrated that he would be so ungrateful, the princess leaves him and dances off into the sunset, content with her own body image. This would be a great children’s book to encourage kindness and positive body image. It would be a great illustrated book because the pictures are precise and depict exactly what the words on each page are saying so it would be fairly easy to follow without the text in the pages. ( )

Strong smart female character saves the day! And she's not wearing heels, makeup, and a body hugging leotard! ( )

The story reverses the princess and dragon stereotype.

-females can outsmart others, are creative and don't need a "prince"
-slightly outdated but still an interesting read
genre: fiction ( )

In my opinion, this book was a very fun and entertaining read. The writing is very engaging and flows well in terms of how the story goes. Some of the characters are believable, like the princess herself, but others are not, like the dragon. I liked this book because it has aspects of a typical fairytale but it is far from one. The illustrations are very well done and do a great job of depicting the story and the emotions of the characters. I really like this book because the woman is the hero, instead of the man. This book promotes confidence in girls and is a good book to have in the classroom. So many times the man is the hero in the story but this book challenges that idea and makes the princess the one who saves the man who is in distress. I think the main idea behind this book is simply that girls can do anything that men can do. ( )

I love, have always and will always love this book. I grew up being read this book by my mother and will always keep it as part of my classroom. I think the most obvious reading or writing lesson is about twists or unexpected endings. I would also like to teach character development. I think this book can be used for any or all grades K-6th for writers workshop. ( )

This is an OKAY book. It is unique because when Prince Ronald is taken by the dragon, she goes out in search of him in the only clothes she has; which is a paper bag. She shows up and she tires out the dragon by making him use all his powers and all his energy. Then Prince Ronald comes out and says that Princess in the paper bag looks messy and dirty and is wearing a paper bag. He asks her to come back after she is dressed like a princess. After he says that, she says he looks nice but he is a bum and leaves him. She has TRUE character. ( )

This book is very weird to me. I think that the message is incredible, especially for young girls to learn that they do not need a man in their lives, especially if they do not treat them right. I also love the aspect that Elizabeth is saving the Prince rather than the other way around. This fairytale shows women in a different light as being smart, witty, strong willed, and more independent. I love that aspect of it, however the ending I found to be odd. She calls him a bum and leaves, I think that the ending could be better. It was definitely unpredictable. The overarching theme of this book is independence and strength, even when it is hard sometimes. ( )

I loved this book as a kid, and still do now. My grandma read it to me almost every day, because we both enjoyed it so much. Especially because my grandma did all the voices differently; it was quite a production.

Anyway, an absolutely adorable and fantastically illustrated kids' book with a new twist on the "kidnapping the fair princess" tale. And I like to think I even liked it back then because the princess was such a strong girl character. ;) ( )

Silly and cute. ( )