Paper Bag Princess

Rating:
Summary: This book is an excellent title for young girls!
Review: This charming story reverses the usual roles: a prince is kidnapped by a dangerous dragon, and the dragon's breath burns up all the clothes in the palace. The princess who loves the prince can only find a paper bag to wear when she goes to rescue her love. Cleverly tricking the dragon, she enters the cave where the prince, still beautifully dressed, is held captive. Is true love rewarded? No! He at once complains she's "a disaster" badly dressed, dirty and all messed up. She replies that he is a fine and handsome prince--but completely useless. "And, in the end, they didn't marry."

This book is funny and not at all didactic, quick and easy to read. It's understandable for children from five up, but appeals to adults, too. I've read it to my Guatemalan maid, who was being forced to marry against her will and had just managed to escape the marriage. She loved the book and took it home to read it to her little brother and sister. This is an ideal work to help girls and boys see themelves as equals, to help them realize that marriage isn't the solution to all life's problems, and to understand that boys, just like girls, can be spoiled and foolish. It also suggests that when a boy friend or girl friend is vain and foolish, rather than pining one can look elsewhere for love and understanding. This book should be in every library worldwide!

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read Book!
Review: The Paper Bag Prinsess is a funny and silly book for little children. Its about a princess named Elizabeth and a prince named Arnold.

They're about to get married when a dragon comes and taks Arnold away. Elizabeth goes on a quest to find him. Well, if you want to hear the ending you'll have to read the story.

I love this book. I read it to my little brother all the time.

Rating:
Summary: Very Spunky!
Review: Hoorah for a princess story where substance counts over good looks!

Rating:
Summary: Very funny and thought-provoking for the right age group
Review: As the other reviews have said, this is a very funny and well-written picture book with a great message; however, I would add the caveat that in some situations the anti-fairy-tale ending may be a little too sophisticated for very young children. I read "The Paper Bag Princess" to a group of 3- and 4-year-olds at a day camp, and when I had finished there was a shocked silence, broken by one little girl's whisper, "That was a BAD story!" I would have liked to read it again and talk about it with them, but they all immediately dispersed for the next activity. I should have chosen a different book for these kids, but as a parent (who ends up reading the same books to my daughter over and over again anyway!), I heartily recommend "The Paper Bag Princess."

Rating:
Summary: Not the Ordinary Princess.
Review: This is a fantastic feminist tale for any age or gender. Once again, Munsch fails to not please. The Princess' ideals are modern, her feeling she doesn't need a prince.

Rating:
Summary: This may be my favorite book!
Review: What a brilliant story to encourage girls to be strong, smart, and realize beauty comes from within!

I have bought this for all friends with new babies...girls and boys. What a gift when we grace our children with the power of confidence and imagination.

Rating:
Summary: Mr. Munsch's wonderful book
Review: This was the first Munsch book that I bought and I quickly went out and bought a whole load more. He's an excellent writer with a wonderful range of stories and a beautifully simple and fluid style of writing that is both accessible to children and able to roll off the tongue of most adults.

As you'll see from the other reviews here, this tale is about a young girl who, filled with nothing but courage, charity and a fair bit of brains, goes off to rescue a young prince from a ferocious dragon. After using all of her cunning to defeat the dragon she discovers that the prince is a bit of a monster himself, and so she decides not to marry him after all.

Although I agree that the story has a wealth of small lessons for children to learn about boys and girls and expectations and disappointments, I think that one of its strongest points is that the book serves as a wonderful introduction to the fact that not all stories end the way we expect them to (it's still a happy ending, just a different one) and that sometimes a twist can be more satisfying anyway.

Highly recommended for children from 3 to 103.

Rating:
Summary: Being who we are and not what someone wants us to be!
Review: A Princess who goes to great lengths to rescue and save her prince to find out he is nothing but a schmuck in the end. This is a great gift for teenagers who are at that stage in their life where they will go to great lengths to please those that they date and they do not always turn out to be princes in the end - you occassionally kiss a frog or two!

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful story!
Review: I love the message in this book! Elizabeth fights back and, at the end, stands up for herself. I think every girl should have this book.

This book was a gift to my daughter, and we ADORE it! I've been reading it to her since she was a year old. At first she likes the pace of the story and the pictures, but I'm hoping the message will stick as she gets older! :-) My eight year old niece also has this book and thinks it's great.

Rating:
Summary: One of our favorites
Review: Elizabeth is a clever girl, who knows just want she wants and how to deal with every eventuality.
This book was given to my daughter on her first birthday and we are still reading it to her at five. She loves it, and I am sure she will still enjoy it at 18.