The classic Canadian children's story, with lots of extra material. There are biographies of the author and artist, a plethora of facts about how children's books in general and this one in particular are published and distributed, and much else. But for its pure silliness, my favourite "extra" is Michael Martchenko's drawing of the author proudly wearing a paper bag, with the dragon staring at him in perplexity and Princess Elizabeth (in matching bag) howling with laughter.

And to add my own favourite outside-the-book extra, since it's the second generation of Paper Bag Princess read-alouds in my family: I asked my preschool grandson why the dragon carried Prince Ronald off to its cave instead of eating him or burning him up like everybody else. He pondered it seriously and decided "Because he was shiny." I am sure he is right! Shiny, blinged-up Ronald is just what every dragon wants to complete its treasure hoard. ( )

Elizabeth is a beautiful princess who is supposed to marry Prince Ronald. A dragon smashes her castle, burns all of her clothes, and kidnaps prince Ronald. So, Elizabeth sets off to rescue him, wearing a paper bag because all her clothes had been burned up. Elizabeth is clever, outwits the dragon, and finds Prince Ronald, who looks at her paper bag clothing and sooty appearance and says, "Come back when you are dressed like a real princess," to which Elizabeth replies, "You look like a real prince, but you are a bum." And the story ends, "They didn't get married after all."

Princess Elizabeth outwits a dragon to rescue Prince Ronald who she intends to marry. But when she discovers that Ronald, who looks like a prince, acts like a bum, she decides not to marry him after all.

This silver anniversary edition describes how the story was conceived and the process of publishing the book, the narrative, the illustrations, and the production in a fun way to inspire children’s creative imaginations. ( )

i remember reading this book as a child and loving the story of a strong female character who realizes that she doesn't need a guy to make her happy. It's an important lesson for girls and young women. ( )

Robert Munsch's classic tale of princess self-empowerment, re-released for its twenty-fifth anniversary in a special hardcover edition with over a dozen pages of trivia and behind-the-scenes commentary. Special features include a brief introduction to page layout and the process of publication, an overview of The Paper Bag Princess around the world and across the stage, original concept sketches of alternate closing illustrations, and a one-page biography on the preschooler who inspired Princess Elizabeth, now all grown up. ( )