Thursday, May 22, 2014

The Paper Bag Princess

The Paper Bag Princess

by Robert N. Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko


Princess Elizabeth is a princess. She lives in a castle, wears fancy clothes, pines for her prince - all the typical princess stuff. When a dragon comes along, burns down the castle, and makes off with her prince, leaving a swath of destruction in its wake, she puts on the only un-burned thing around (a large paper bag) and sets off to rescue her prince.

When she finally tracks the dragon to its lair, she vanquishes it through a mix of quick thinking and flattery. However, her prince proves to be an entitled dope, only interested in well-groomed princesses, not competent ones.

Michael Martchenko's comically emotive cartoon illustrations nicely complement Robert N. Munsch's whimsical, feminist take on the traditional princes and dragons fantasy story. It is a refreshing change to all of the pretty, sparkly mainstream princess fare (not that there's anything wrong with pretty or sparkly - it's just nice to have variety).

The Paper Bag Princess by Robert N. Munsch, illustrated by Michael Martchenko

2 comments:

  1. We have the board book version for baby Freyja. Big fans.

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    1. I'm glad you like it. I hope that when she grows up, she'll be up to taking on some dragons herself.

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