The Child that Books Built: The Paper Bag Princess

here once was a little girl name Meg who wanted nothing more than to be a princess. She thought that this would be impossible given that she looked nothing like the princesses she saw in movies or read in about in fairytales.

One day, Meg’s parents gave her a wonderful gift – a book entitled ‘The Paper Bag Princess’ by Robert Munsch. Immediately she noticed that the princess had short hair like hers, which was uncommon for a princess (they usually had long hair). Meg didn’t realize it at first but that book would change her life and shape the kind of reader and girl she was going to be.

The Paper Bag Princess tells the story of Princess Elizabeth who is engaged to the handsome Prince Ronald. Her world is turned upside down when a dragon destroys her kingdom and kidnaps her prince. Unfortunately, all of her belongings were burned and she is left with nothing to wear except a paper bag. Instead of feeling helpless, Princess Elizabeth sets out to find the dragon and rescue Prince Ronald. After outsmarting the evil dragon she is reunited with Prince Ronald, who refuses to marry her because she looks nothing like a princess (according to him anyway). Princess Elizabeth decides that she doesn’t need an ungrateful man like Ronald in her life and skips away happily.

Meg learned that princesses come in all shapes and sizes. She didn’t need a fancy gown to be one. She also learned that princesses can save princes and it doesn’t have to be the other way around! She learned that looks are not so important and that brains will take you much farther – you can even slay dragons. And most of all, she learned that she didn’t need a prince to have a happy ending, much less a shallow one, no matter how handsome he was. She could have a happily ever after all by herself.

After reading The Paper Bag Princess, Meg’s view of other princesses and fairytales changed. She began showing interest in stories (whether she would read them on her own or have her parents read them to her) like The Little Match Girl, The Happy Prince, and a few years later The Ordinary Princess, another empowering story.

These days Meg is proud to say that she is on her way to becoming (and is already somewhat) a strong, capable, and resilient woman of substance – someone that Princess Elizabeth would have been proud of.