The Paper Bag Princess (traditional literature)

The Paper Bag Princess

Author: Robert Munsch

Illustrator: Michael Martchenko

Suggested Grade Level: K-6

"The Paper Bag Princess" is a twist on the Cinderella story. In this tale, the princess is in search of her soon to be husband who was taken away by a mean dragon. She has to travel a long way to find him and trick the dragon. By the end, he tells her she is messy and isn't dress liked a real princess, so she dumps him and they don't get married after all. I like this story because it teaches independence and it depicts a strong female character, which is generally uncommon especially among princess stories. 

In the story, we are presented with three characters, Ronald, Elizabeth, and the dragon. Elizabeth possesses the qualities of cleverness, bravery, and silliness, which are all generally found in traditional tales. The story in general is silly as it depicts a princess tricking and outsmarting a dragon, but it also is a very straight forward plot line with almost no ambiguity. It's very clear what the problem is as Ronald is taken away on page 2. The story really only focuses on that one problem, Elizabeth needing to free Ronald from the dragon, which is also something that is a generic trait in traditional literature. Among the usual traits in traditional literature are clear vernacular language and a vague setting and time frame. This book contains both of those elements as it is direct in its language yet vague in description of where this takes place.

The five literary elements are very straight forward in this book. We are presented with only three characters who all interact and a vague setting but we know it is in a castle and along through the woods. The problem is introduced immediately as Ronald is whisked away by the dragon and the castle is burnt to the ground leaving Elizabeth with nothing but a paper bag to wear as a dress. The resolution is clear at the end as Elizabeth finds Ronald and then dumps him because he is, as she puts it, a "bum." The theme is evident that a woman does not need a man, including princesses, because she can be independent and brave and cunning. 

I think this book could be incorporated into the classroom by comparing this to almost any princess story where the woman is portrayed as less able and needy of a man. I think it could lead a great discussion about gender stereotypes and gender roles, and it could probably be used in any classroom. I even used it in a fifth grade class to demonstrate character traits as I felt Elizabeth had very strong character traits. 

MA ELA Frameworks:

RLK3. With prompting and support, identify characters, settings, and major events in a story.

 RLK7. With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the

RL1.1Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. 

story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).

RL1.7Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events. 

RL2.1Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text.

RL2.9Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

RL3.3Describe characters in a story (e.g., their traits, motivations, or feelings) and explain how their actions contribute to the sequence of events. 

RL4.3Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).    

RL5.2Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.