Hey guys, so this week i had to do a math project on the paper bag princess. sounds strange, i know. The classic book is written by Robert Munsch and illustrated by Micheal Marchenko. But as i was reading the book, i started to remember all the reasons that i fell in love with the story in the first place.
The story beginnings with a love struck Princess named Elizabeth. It seems that her only aspirations in life are to marry her true love prince Ronald and live happily ever after in there castle far far away.
This is the basic story of any fairy tale. But all does not go as planned when a dragon comes and destroys her castle, and kidnaps Prince Ronald. All her clothes are burned up, and the only thing not burned is a paper bag. (Makes so much sense that the only thing not to burn is a paper bag) So Elizabeth has to put on the paper bag and chase down the dragon to save Ronald.
After following the dragons trail of destruction back to his cave, Elizabeth out smarts the dragon and is able to save Ronald. Only to find out that her Prince charming isn't a charming person. She dumps him and goes off into the sunset by herself, happy and content.
I really admire this book and i think it teaches girls of all ages valuable lessons about life, that you don't have to sit back and wait for the prince to save you, that you can save yourself. It teaches girls that you can take matters into your own hands and never let a man insult you, especially after you saved his butt.
This story encourages girls to not let the world push them around and to fight back. To use there brains, and creativity to solve problems.
This story encourages girls to not let the world push them around and to fight back. To use there brains, and creativity to solve problems.
To be honest , most people would not run around in a paper bag. Barbie wore high heels and mini skirts, and in the 80's the Mattel toy company came out with a talking Barbie that actually said "math class is tough".
Where this is a horrible example of female images targeted to young girls, Elizabeth is a resourceful, intelligent character that i think is a good role model for young girls ages 0-6.
Excellent job Robert Munsch.
mm i love this book too!
ReplyDeletei think it was really clever of you to add in that bit of information about the anti-math Barbie.
your retelling of the story was very accurate and enjoyable, as it reminded me of how great the book was! maybe you could, if this is your focus, add a little bit to your reflection on the book; more about girls' influences... self-esteem, power.. and maybe even how it might have affected you as a reader. just a thought!
"i started to remember all the reasons that i fell in love with the story in the first" I love this intro! it really makes the book personal and fun. this was a nice touch!
Who doesn't love this book?
ReplyDeleteRobert Munsch is amazing!
Your writing here about the book was really cute, and talked about how it was a good example for girls without making it cheesy or too factual.
Really good job :)